


The Hourglass Project

by ad_astraa



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, Best Friends, Fluff, Futuristic, M/M, OngNiel is science, Scientist!Ong, Soulmates, Strangers to Lovers, the best kind of relationship honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-06-11 09:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15312648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ad_astraa/pseuds/ad_astraa
Summary: The Hourglass Project.Seven chosen participants out of thousands of hopefuls. A simulated virtual reality built by brilliant scientists and researchers to create virtual biospheres set in the near future. They navigate through multiple scenarios to create the best future for mankind.Among thousands of hopefuls, Daniel was selected as one of the seven participants.





	1. Reality to Virtual

Strobing lights danced around the table tops and reflected off the myriad of colored drinks housed in elegant glasses. A cacophony of whispered sirens, pretentious conversations and pulsing music swirled around Daniel.

An entrepreneur.

It is in fact, a truly lavish term to describe a job, for out of one successful entrepreneur, there were probably hundreds more who failed. With that thought, Daniel polished off another mug of beer.

After another failed project after months of hard work resulting in his business partner pulling out, Daniel was dejected, disappointed and now belonged in the category of "once was hopeful". He had determinedly strode into The Hourglass Corporation building in his city, brushed past the opulent glass doors and headed straight towards the sign that directed him to the second floor to cast his lot.

The Hourglass Corporation.

A global organization, housing brilliant scientists and researchers had built a virtual world called The Hourglass and had made an open call for participants to sign up to have the chance to live in the virtual reality for 12 months. It would be set in 2048 and the seven chosen people would have to navigate through "the future", with scientists studying their daily activities in order to create the best future there can be.

Now, Daniel was never all that enthusiastic about being subject to scrutiny for grandiose scientific endeavors. He was purely motivated by the prospect of receiving $100,000, which was one of the added incentives should he be one of the seven chosen participants.

He was definitely not the only one, seeing as how the headline news showed people rushing to The Hourglass Corporation's offices in their respective city-states on the opening day of the registration. Daniel had openly scoffed at their desperation until he himself hopped on the same bandwagon when yet another of his business ideas fell through. Fortunately for him, he managed to scrape through and make it on the last day of registrations.

"REALIZE YOUR 2048 IN THE HOURGLASS. A REALITY OF BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITIES."

The directions led him into a huge open room on the second floor and Daniel found himself staring at a line of full-length black screens, each screen encased in a transparent glass tube. No one was in sight. All of the screens had a blue or white light the size of a coin embedded into the left side, along with an engraved number plate in gold.

Screen number one's blue light was flashing, while the others were white and unmoving, seemingly unfazed by his presence.

He tentatively stepped towards the first screen, the glass tube automatically opening just wide enough for him to step through, and closed off behind him again. At once, the glass tube darkened, encircling him in privacy. He waved and poked around the screen, yet nothing seemed to work, while the blue light continues flashing back at him as if mocking him for being ignorant.

Exasperated yet again by another situation that doesn't seem to work out in his life, he considered bashing the screen when the flashing blue light went out, and a chirpy voice greeted him from a surround sound system.

"Welcome! Thank you for your interest in being part of The Hourglass. To cast your lot, place your right palm on screen and follow the next series of instructions. The process will take no more than 10 minutes. We wish you all the best as it will be the opportunity of a lifetime. Good luck!"

Barely registering the information after recovering from his stupor, Daniel took in a deep breath to regain his composure and straightened his tie, feeling the imaginary eyes of the chirpy female voice from earlier staring at him.

He gingerly placed his palm on the screen and braced himself for something to happen. For someone to continue speaking, instructions to appear on the screen, an explosion, something.

Five agonizing seconds felt like an eternity when you're a desperate and broke man. Eventually, the full-length screen lit up. Instructions appeared on the screen, prompting him to look straight into the two dotted circles that appeared at his eye level. The screen had surprisingly calibrated his height in the span of 5 seconds, probably his weight too. Daniel hastily followed the instructions, laser lights shot out from the screen and moved up and down his body, he almost felt embarrassed by the lasers mapping out his body and gritted his teeth in exasperation when the lasers scanned repeatedly throughout his anatomy. He felt strangely violated despite there being nothing physically touching him.

Finally, the screen turned dark again and Daniel removed his palm from the screen. Sputtering in confusion and stepping back, Daniel frantically looked around again and the screen once again lit up, this time, with all his personal information presented neatly in a list. A completely bizarre experience, right off the bat.

The chirpy voice greeted him again, "To confirm your registration, place your right thumb on the instructed area." A blinking red square appears on the screen at his chest level and Daniel reached his thumb forward, only to stop right before he touches the screen.

Is he really going to do this? He doesn't even really know what he has signed up for, except for the promise of receiving $100,000, having to live in the virtual world for 12 months, and it didn't seem like a bad idea according to the news. They promised a world of endless possibilities, opportunities, and visions, set in the year 2048 while living through a simulation. Along with a string of fanciful words painting a paradisiacal life, which Daniel's mind had not bothered to retain. The only thing that caught his attention was probably; well, definitely the monetary rewards.

Reminded of the possibility of receiving the $100,000 again, Daniel jabbed his right thumb into the blinking red square with gusto. Lines appeared on the screen to map out the ridges on his thumb. The blinking red square changed into a satisfying green square, with the words "ACCEPTED" appearing across the screen, chirpy-voiced lady wishing him luck once again.

Daniel stumbled backward and the screen faded to black, the darkened glass tube fizzling into transparency once more, indicating that the next person can step in to register.

Reality crashed back into him. The possibility of him being chosen was unknown and he still had a business to salvage, probably without the $100,000.

Deciding to rely on modern men's method of relieving stress, he stepped out of the building and trudged towards the bar, muttering about alcohol being the only thing that never fails him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wrote this as a "sample piece" for a sci-fi work project. So I changed the names and decided to put it up here because, I love OngNiel lololol.
> 
> Sorry Ong hasn't appeared yet, I wasn't even required to write that much for the work project hahaha wells. I'm sure it's easy to guess what Ong's role in the story is. See y'all soon!
> 
> Do leave some comments! Kudos are appreciated too! 
> 
> Twitter/CC: @dearr_daniell  
> Come talk to me! :)


	2. An Epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding that he probably could deal with just one more disappointment, he switched on the TV and flipped through the channels thoughtlessly, waiting for the clock to strike nine.

"I'm sorry sir, but we are unable to increase your loan amount until you have proven that the business is lucrative..." drawled the lady over the phone for the umpteenth time. For the past two days, Daniel had pulled together all his ideas in hopes of putting together a sound business proposal to request for an increased loan but obviously, the bank had no sympathy when it came to his livelihood.

 

Frustrated, he hung up the phone before he could hear her repeat the same line for the sixteenth time.

 

It was drawing near the time where the results of the chosen participants for The Hourglass Project would be announced on national TV. In all honesty, Daniel had refused to get any of his hopes up for fear of just getting more disappointments than what he could handle for a lifetime.

 

His phone lit up with a notification that started with "We're sorry to inform you but...", Daniel chucked his phone and let out a frustrated, guttural sound he never knew he was capable of.

 

Deciding that he probably could deal with _just one more_ disappointment, he switched on the TV and flipped through the channels thoughtlessly, waiting for the clock to strike nine.

 

"Cuckoo!", the wooden bird burst out of the tiny doors as if it was rushing somewhere but just as quickly, it snapped back behind its doors, only to emerge again. Daniel counted nine cuckoo sounds.

 

With some remnants of hope still left, Daniel switched to the news channel and padded to his fridge to fetch a beer so he could face the news without being sober. It would hurt less, he thinks.

 

Flopping back on his sofa again, he listened to some general news about politics, world affairs and finally, the current affairs section came on and the camera panned to a huge crowd of reporters gathered outside The Hourglass Corporation's building.

 

Daniel didn't know what to expect, would the CEO come out and announce the names, shouting it over the craze of reporters? It seemed unbecoming of the elegant organization he remembered. But he couldn't think of how else it would be announced. Would they perhaps draw lots from a mystical futuristic ball like how game shows were and wait for 10 agonizing minutes before announcing a name? It didn't seem right either.

 

Before Daniel could conjure up further scenarios, the scene switched to a large conference room with a sleek, black roundtable. The lights were glaringly bright, in direct contrast to the shiny black walls and table.

 

A man with an impeccably coiffed hairstyle, gelled tightly in place, stood at the head of the table. His hair was gelled so tight that in the event of a hurricane, the trees will probably get uprooted before this man's hair has a single strand out of place. But since he stood at the head of the table, which was a position that indicates power, Daniel decided he would keep that thought to himself if he were to  _ever_ meet that man.

 

Giggling at his own joke, Daniel continued watching the man who had introduced himself as Suho, an executive of The Hourglass Corporation, and the manager of The Hourglass Project.

 

So were there other projects? Isn't it redundant to name your project similarly to the company name? Ran out of creativity probably. Daniel mused to himself again.

 

The manager, Suho, then introduced the ten or so, probably fifteen other people sitting around the conference table as a whole, stating that they were the scientists and researchers taking part in this project. As the camera panned in a circle, Daniel noticed that every single one of them looked gorgeous, exquisite, alluring even. Is that part of the criteria to be chosen?

 

Feeling a wave of insecurity, Daniel grabbed his phone and pulled up the camera. Taking a glance at his disheveled look, he sighed and chucked his phone, again. It's probably a miracle his phone is still going strong.

 

Despite all the fanfare around the event, the announcements of the seven chosen participants went by in a serene manner. Manager Suho stepped aside and large black screen descended from the ceiling. However, there were no projections coming on the screen, instead a holograph sprung out from the middle of the round table and beams of light filled the room, the holograph read "The Hourglass Project" and rotated 360 degrees.

 

Dramatic music started rolling in and the first participant was announced. Daniel watched with bated breath, still carrying the hope that there was a 14.2857143% it might be him.

 

The hologram then reconstructed itself into the first chosen participant and also proceeded to rotate 360 degrees. That is probably the reason why the roundtable was so big. For purposes of extravagant technology like holograms.

 

"Bae Jinyoung"

 

The assembly of people around the conference table clapped, albeit halfheartedly.

 

"Lai Guanlin"

 

Applause arose again, but with less enthusiasm than the first.

 

"Kim Jaehwan"

 

The camera mistakenly closed up on one of the scientists, who was caught rolling his eyes. Daniel snickered, what did that boy do wrong to warrant an eye-roll from the scientist? Furthemore on prime time television! More like prime time entertainment.

 

A few more names were announced and the people assembled in the conference room looked more than ready to get done with their pretentious clapping and head home.

 

The last participant was finally announced, and Daniel stared back at himself.

 

His face.

 

His name.

 

He was on television.

 

He was chosen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No surprise! Of course, Daniel is in! 
> 
> Who do you think rolled his eyes when Jaehwan was announced?! Keke.
> 
> Do let me know what you like about the story!


	3. Jarvie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel receives an unimaginable gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned that I would update two days ago. But I felt like, I wanted to do this properly and not half-ass it, it would be great for my sci-fi writing practice too. So I took some time to map out the whole plot, flesh out the scientific terms used, and put in more details for the world-building!
> 
> I hope you enjoy imagining it as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Recommended BGM: El Dorado - EXO

After the sensational broadcast of an announcement, Daniel had laid awake in his bed all night, long limbs flung in all directions, spilling over from his tiny bed. Overwhelmed by his feelings and emotions, negative thoughts had reared their evil heads every now then.

 

What if they were giving out the such an irresistible monetary reward because he was going to die inside?

 

What if he just sold his soul to the devil and was now on the road of no return?

 

Succumbing to the weight of a multitude of emotions, he lay in bed and made no move to find out what he had to do, or what was going to happen.

 

Recalling that he had completely blanked out during the second half of the broadcast, where instructions were given out for what the chosen participants had to do, he did not have an inkling of what he was supposed to do. He honestly couldn’t be bothered to find out, yet he jolted awake at the thought of them giving away the $100,000 to another person if he didn’t claim it on time. He decided to give himself a few more hours to catch some sleep before he could plan a course of action.

 

____________________

 

Turns out, Daniel did not have to plan any course of action. Sometime in the evening, he was roused by a light thumping on his door.

 

Rubbing his eyes while exhaling irritably, he pushed himself up and dragged himself to the door.

 

Looking through the peephole, he didn’t see anyone.

 

Perhaps he was dreaming.

 

Daniel turned to make his way to the kitchen when the thumping noises sounded once more. Startled, he whipped around and pressed against the door, right-eye squarely against the peephole to have a good look.

 

No one.

 

Daniel was terrified. He signed up for pure, true-blue scientific research experiments, not supernatural occurrences. He was further convinced that he had probably signed his soul to the devil.

 

He frantically switched on every single light in his house, his mother had told him that ghosts only appear in the dark, lights will- may drive them away. Anything about helps at that point.

 

He rummaged around for some form of weapon, a baseball bat maybe. That is always the weapon of choice in emergency scenarios conjured up in useless theft-prevention education videos. But Daniel doesn’t own a baseball bat for that matter. Did theft-prevention videos not take his situation into account? He finally settled on his bug zapper when he heard a very familiar voice.

 

“This is a delivery for Mr Kang Daniel from The Hourglass Corporation. Please indicate permission to receive.”

 

It’s chirpy-voiced lady!

 

Daniel had never imagined in his life that he would be _this_ relieved to hear a non-human voice. Heaving a sigh of relief, he already started to feel comforted by her voice and hurriedly flung his door open.

 

He had expected a lady or a little girl perhaps, since she sounded so chirpy, a human basically. Instead, he was greeted by a spherical floating device that was hovering near his eye level, mechanical wings on both sides that were flapping aggressively, comparable to those gym bunnies having it out with the treadmill.

 

So this is what chirpy-voiced lady looks like?

 

Odd, but Daniel should had reckoned that this is what it’ll be like in a world of futuristic technology.

 

As he was having a stare-down with chirpy voiced lady, she spoke once more.

 

“This is a delivery for Mr Kang Daniel from The Hourglass Corporation. Please indicate permission to receive.”

 

“I guess she only has a programmed list of things to say.” groused Daniel. He was severely lacking in the pleasant-interactions department when all he had been doing for the past few days was trying to convince the bank office ladies over the phone to increase his loan amount.

 

He was still of the firm belief that it would have been way easier to get an increased loan from the bank ladies had he personally made a visit to the bank, and swoon them over with his charms and great physique. He didn’t brag often, well sometimes maybe he does wear shirts a size too small, that honestly isn’t much bragging though.

 

Lost in his own thoughts, chirpy-voiced lady - the spherical device - continued hovering around him.

 

Deciding that futuristic technology is definitely more welcome over supernatural occurrences, Daniel was ready to embrace the inevitable.

 

“So how do I erm, give you permission?” He asked timidly while rubbing his neck. He wasn’t sure how to feel about talking to, whatever this was, yet.

 

“Please state your full name and hold your right palm out, facing upwards.”

 

Daniel did as he was told and the device descended and landed snugly in his palm. Tiny red laser beams shot out and scanned around his palm. It seemed to swipe across his thumb more frantically, identification purposes, he supposed. The spherical device then pings satisfactorily and this time, a purple glow emits from it, as if it was beaming at Daniel.

 

“Err okay, so what now?” as he stares quizzically at the device in his palm again.

 

Daniel grumbled to himself and nearly flew out of his skin when Chirpy-voiced snarked back a remark.

 

“Well, if I were you I’d close the door and go back into my house, bringing this device, that is yours truly, along as well.”

 

Daniel gaped at the device.

 

Seemingly pausing for effect, it continued.

 

“Contrary to your opinion, I do not _only_ have a programmed set of things to say. I’m an artificial intelligence designed to assist you and fully capable of formulating intelligent answers. Hence, artificial _intelligence_.”

 

If Chirpy-voice was a person, Daniel could practically see it smiling smugly at him while folding her arms.

 

God. Is it going to get any weirder?

 

“Right, right.” Daniel sighed in defeat. He closed the door and clasped his palm around the device tightly, in an effort to regain control of the conversation. Or so he thinks. The device vibrated violently in his palm, causing him to release it from his grasp. It’s little mechanical wings shot out again and hovered towards his coffee table.

 

“You don’t have to carry me around, this device is capable of moving around by itself.” It settled atop his coffee table as Daniel trailed after it, positioning himself on his couch. “Even though it’ll disintegrate after the hologram message is delivered.”

 

“You’ll disintegrate after this?!” Daniel nearly shouts, straightening up in attention. Despite it not being a human, he was already feeling attached to it. It was like his cat, but a cat that can talk. It’s strange.

 

“No, this device is a hologram message.” Chirpy-voiced lady reassured him cheerily. “I just came here along with it. You can think of it as me taking an airplane here.”

 

Why does she always sound so happy? Even though it strangely made Daniel feel calm and more affectionate towards it - her. If his cats could talk, they’d probably sound like that.

 

Hold up.

 

So chirpy-voiced lady was inside this spherical device? How small is she? What is she?

 

Sensing Daniel’s confusion and bewilderment at the whole situation, Chirpy-voice continued with her explanation. “Okay let’s do this properly.”

 

She even clears her throat, what in the name of Hourglass is this?!

 

“Congratulations Mister Kang Daniel! You are now part of the seven chosen participants for The Hourglass Corporation’s 2048 Project. The seven of you will be collectively termed as, The Hourglass Entrants, or simply Entrants in short.”

 

“To give the Entrants an idea of what to expect, and informational hologram has been sent to each of you. Whenever you’re ready, place your right thumb against The Hourglass Corporation’s emblem on this device and the hologram message will be activated. After the message is delivered, the hologram device disintegrates automatically for security purposes.”

 

“B-but what if I forget the details?” Daniel interjected Chirpy-voice’s long and detailed speech, alarmed by the situation.

 

“Aaand I’m about to explain that next. Allow me to continue.”

 

She clears her throat teasingly again.   

 

What is this chirpy voice, is she controlled by a human? She must be.

 

“Next is where I explain about myself. I am an artificial intelligence device, designed to help you with your daily needs. You can think of me as a speaking mobile phone. I will be your alarm, your Google, your organiser, and basically everything technological. Most Intellectuals and Imperators in The Hourglass Corporation have the privilege of being gifted one. It’s apparently very beneficial. Oh and possibly, your daily dose of sarcasm!” Chirpy-voice finishes and beams once again, purple hue glowing brightly.

 

Daniel, who had by now slumped into his couch, tried his darndest to absorb all the presented information. It was definitely a whole lot to absorb. When his neurons seem to connect, albeit at an alarmingly slow rate, it clicked.

 

“Aha so if I ever forget anything, you’d be able to remind me?” Daniel gushed excitedly and leaned towards the device again, eyes wide with astonishment.

 

How convenient! A personal device that talks, he likened it to Ironman and Jarvis, sounds perfect.

 

“That’s right. But that’s if you want to possess such a device. To my Accessed Knowledge, some people find it invasive and do not want to possess one. They stuck with the old-fashioned mobile phone.”

 

So mobile phones are old-fashioned now. Fantastic. Did she mean to bruise his ego, because it was definitely working.

 

Processing his quirked eyebrow, Chirpy-voice quickly continued. “Our designed intention is not to be a device you can hold and put aside at any time. I’m a pico-chip, tinier than the mole on your face, most possessors of such a device simply embed the pico-chip into a feature on their face, mostly moles or at the side of their ear. But the closer to the center of your face, the more efficient this technology works. We process the responses of things you’re interacting with, everything is recorded into our system like a video camera, and you can even request for playbacks.”

 

“As I’m not embedded on you now, I’m unable to process your feelings and speech. Once embedded, even though I can’t reach into your thoughts, I can process your feelings through nerve impulses, and if you mouth your words, I’m able to process what you say without having to voice it out. It is very useful for emergency situations.”

 

Daniel’s eyebrows were perpetually raised but he couldn’t help it, not with such a bizarre situation. He was talking to an object for God’s sake. An object that seemed to have a mind of its own.

 

“Oh yeah?” Daniel retorted, “What sort of emergency?”

 

“Hmmm, let’s say you chance upon a beautiful person and you can’t think of a suitable pickup line, you can mouth ‘help’ and I’ll immediately access and filter through 82,920 pickup lines on the internet and present you with the most suitable one.”

 

Now we’re talking.

 

That, is indeed a great assistance to have. Everyone in The Hourglass Corporation must have very healthy love lives. It could even help Daniel get the best business proposal!

 

Ecstatic at such an invention, he was more than ready to plunge into this new world.

 

The word “embedding” does seem invasive though. “So, what happens if I don’t want it? Do I return you? This? It?”

 

“Oh, no. This is simply a shell, if you do not require it, I’ll simply fade out and disintegrate.”

 

That’s murder! Daniel gasped. He could never bring himself to do that!

 

“B-but,” Daniel sputtered through his words, “Can’t we give it to someone else who wants it?”

 

How could it just, “die”?

 

They hadn’t even given him a chance to evaluate such a commitment, and now he has to “put it to sleep”? It’s akin to animal cruelty!

 

No!

 

Daniel couldn’t come to terms with it.

 

“It’s difficult to explain this but just imagine a very complex web of electrical lines. Trillions and zillions of them, at their Primary forms. Each line of artificial intelligence is constructed for one specific person, it then becomes a Specialised form. When you stepped into The Hourglass Corporation, they analysed your outward appearances and behaviour, and pulled out a Primary form, that is me, and I became a Specialised form, designed to complement you and will continue to develop and adapt to you as time goes on. Your personal assistant. Honestly, in your context, it’s as simple as changing the settings on your phone to what you prefer. Nothing complicated.” Chirpy-voice explained, without a care for her own survival.

 

“But also, based on the Accessed Information, that’s why some people prefer not to have it. They think of it as a lifetime commitment. But you really do not have to think too far, after your 12 months stint is over, I guess I’ll fade out as well. I will return to the Web and become a base form again.” Chirpy-voice concluded, probably was smiling again. She must really have been created for him, she basically sounded like, like family.

 

Overwhelmed by the onslaught of scientific information, Daniel held his head in his hands. He simply didn’t feel the capacity to make any sound decisions anymore, so he decided to embrace it.

 

“Alright, I’m can’t explain why but you just feel like family already. And I can’t just let you… die? Even if you give me a thorough explanation, it just doesn’t feel right.”

 

Chirpy-voice did not respond. Is she already gone?

 

Reaching out to the device and shaking it frantically, “Hello? Are you there? Chirpy-voice! Answer me!”

 

“Have you been calling me ‘chirpy voice’ this whole time? I was given this voice based on their analysis of your supposed preferences. But I can do this too, if you’d like.”

 

The voice went three octaves down into a sinister baritone voice, “Is this better?”

 

Daniel positively freaked and dropped the device. “No! No please. What you had was good, great actually. You sound like my cat.”

 

“Your cat.” The device deadpanned, thankfully back to the chirpy-voice.

 

Embarrassed by his reveal, Daniel asked, “What should I call you then? Do you have a name?”

 

“Yes! It’s AIPA12101996KDN.”

 

That sounded really familiar and Daniel scrunched his forehead in deep thought.

 

Oh.

 

His birthday and initials, not surprising since it’s his personal device.

 

“Well erm, that’s a handful. How about, Jarvis? You know like Ironman, his assistant is also called Jarvis.” Daniel pipes excitedly now that the topic was of interest.

 

“That sounds awfully like a male’s name, should I alter my voice again? Do your prefer a male assistant?” Daniel wasn’t even sure if she was being genuine or sarcastic anymore.

 

Daniel threw up his hands in surrender, “No no, it’s fine! We’ll think of another name. Just Jarvilia for now? Jarie? Jarvie? Just. Well. How do we do this embedding thing?” His hands fell to his sides.

 

“Oh!” Chirpy-voice, hereby named Jarvie temporarily, exclaimed excitedly. “It’s very simple, first you choose a spot. Like I mentioned, preferably on your face. You’ll realise later that it’s much easier to control.”

 

Daniel scooted towards the mirror that he had near his doorstep. He swept his bangs away from his face and confirmed that he had a mole beneath his right eye.

 

Striding back to his couch, “Yeah I have a mole beneath my right eye, we can place it there?” questioned Daniel tentatively.

 

“I know that!” Jarvie offers happily.

 

“Well, why did you bother asking then,” he mumbled grouchily again.

 

“Based on my Assessed Information, if I pretend not to know some things and ask for your opinion, it’ll make me seem less invasive and you’d be more inclined to keep me.” Jarvie chirped back, helpfully.

 

Not expecting such an answer, Daniel nodded numbly. “I won’t let you die. Come on, what’s next?” he gently adds.

 

A small compartment on the device, probably the size of a thumb, slid open and a purple gemstone floated out. It was just as small as a mole, as described by Jarvis. It glided towards Daniel’s right eye. He nearly went cross-eyed when it approached closer and closer to his face.

 

Something started speaking again and this time, it wasn’t Jarvie’s chirpy voice. The sound came from the mechanism and was an emotionless, monotone and squeaky voice, as if someone was using a voice changer. “Mister Kang Daniel, to consent to the embedding of AIPA12101996KDN into you, please say ‘I consent’ when you hear the beep sound.”

 

Beep.

 

Daniel gulped, took a deep breath and looked at the floating purple gem again.

 

“I consent.”

 

The purple gemstone emitted an impossibly bright light, causing Daniel to wince and squeeze his eyes shut. He felt a sharp sensation under his right eye, as if a needle was driving into him. He grimaced slightly at the pain, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. Tiny pulses of electricity seemed to zap around his right eye, connecting to the nerves beneath his skin. He could feel the pulses thrumming and spreading throughout him. Then he heard it, a satisfying click, he didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely positive.

 

“It’s all done!” Jarvie chirped merrily.

 

That’s great.

 

Wait.

 

It wasn’t a manifested sound, it was in his brain. As if he was talking to himself, but it was Jarvie’ voice.

 

“I can sense your confusion now. Yes, I’ll only be talking in your head. It’d be really weird if everyone’s AIPAs were talking out loud isn’t it? That’s counter-productive to any sort of privacy. If you asked me to playback a movie then everyone would be able to hear it!” Jarvie exclaims and mockingly gasps.

 

Rolling his eyes, “Did the system conclude that I’d prefer a snarky AI?” he deadpans.

 

“Seems like it!” Jarvie bubbles happily.

 

There’s a lot of benefits to it, he muses. He could listen to music and watch movies all in his own brain without having to even plug in his headphones anymore. He doesn’t even need his phone. There’s definitely more pros than cons to this.

 

Daniel rubs his eyes wearily and felt the fatigue drawing him in.

 

“Before you fall asleep, one last thing, I’ll be like a permanent video recorder, so if you ever want me to switch off, double-tap your right mole with your middle finger!” Jarvie informs, sounding excitable about nearly anything.

 

Daniel nodded and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh so Ong and the rest of the Wanna One members ain't out yet! I powered through the past day and have already completed writing the part where Ong finally appeared, but I realised it was another 10k words down the document. Dang. So I thought, alright I will edit this portion first and make it fitting for a chapter keke. 
> 
> I really like Jarvie a lot! I hope y'all do too!


	4. The Fob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hi. You’re Kang Daniel.” 
> 
> A soothing, slightly nasally voice spoke just before Daniel’s eyes could complete their journey of tracing the stranger’s beauty. 
> 
> Startled, Daniel darted his eyes downwards again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAS Ong has made his first appearance! *throws confetti*
> 
> And we're finally taking the step into the new world!
> 
> Enjoy~

Loud, blaring sounds jolted Daniel awake and it seemed like an emergency was impending. Hazard lights flashed in his vision and Daniel shot up from his couch, desperate eyes darting around, trying to recall what he should do in the event that there was a fire, or whatever emergency that was looming over him now.

 

Just as quickly as it came, the blaring noises came to a complete halt. Daniel's vision cleared and he was shrouded in complete darkness. Faint traces of light came intermittently through his window blinds, it was probably dawn. It couldn't possibly be dusk unless he had slept through a full day, not that he wasn't capable of that and had probably done that multiple times over.

 

Feeling the loss of something he couldn't put a finger to, he sat numbly in silence and instinctively started feeling around for his phone, wanting to check the time and also invariably, scroll through his social media sites for updates. Perhaps also upload a photo or two of himself and proceed to eagerly anticipate praises from his five loyal followers.

 

"Good morning!” Jarvie sing song-ed, as cheerful as ever.

 

Daniel spasmed ungracefully, having completely forgotten about the events that had transpired in the past day, and how he had gotten himself sucked right into a vortex of futuristic technology. "Please! You scared me!" Daniel half whined; half tried to maintain a masculine and fearless image.

 

Jarvie giggled, sounding awfully like an elementary school girl who just played a prank on her best friend.

 

"Anyway, what was that? Is there an emergency?" Daniel recalled the earlier alarm sounds that still seemed to be ringing in a faint distance. His nerves shot up to attention again.

 

"Emergency?" Jarvie almost sounded perplexed, "I processed the information from your mobile phone's alarm tone, isn't that your usual alarm tone? Would you prefer something else?"

 

Right, his alarm.

 

Daniel managed a wry smile and shook his head. "Oh. Yeah. Well, you could maybe tone it down with all the hazard lights and emergency erm, playbacks? Here I thought I was going to die."

 

"Sure! I'll re-calibrate your alarm into something soothing." Jarvie prattles on enthusiastically about classical music and the likes. "For now, here are a few things you need to know for maximum usage of the AI PA, a glorious invention that is I."

 

Daniel scoffed at Jarvie's boastful self-introduction.

 

A purple laser beam shot out from under his right eye, materializing into a purple screen at a comfortable viewing length away from his sight. A list of words started to appear on the screen.

 

 _Subvocalize_  
_Set-up shortcuts_  
_Call-Up_

 

Daniel read out the words perfectly. However, the understanding portion did not seem to come along with it.

 

As usual, Jarvie cleared her throat as a habitual routine when she's about to launch into a long lecture, "Firstly, you can subvocalize your thoughts and requests so that it's more efficient. Statistics have shown that humans find it tiring to speak all the time."

 

Daniel hummed in agreement. Subvocalizing would be so much easier. In fact, he does that so often, almost every waking minute since he talks to himself all the time.

 

"Secondly, shortcuts. We can define that as we go along, but I have also processed the information from your phone. You can just say 'Call number 1' and I will connect the phone line to your mother. If there are other things that you do often, we can establish the shortcuts eventually."

 

Indeed, very convenient. Daniel nodded, indicating his understanding.

 

"Lastly, would be the Call-Ups. This purple screen right here is called a Veil. Anytime you want to view anything; videos, pictures, information, you can request them and I'll call them up, hence Call-Ups. You can decide to view it inside of your head, which is the default mode, or if you prefer to see it on a screen, you can watch in on the Veil."

 

As if making her point, the Veil began playing back the latest Spiderman movie, without audio, unfortunately.

 

"When you're using the Veil, other people will not be able to see what's on your Veil, if you want to share what you're viewing with them, I'll have to connect to their AIPA and sync your Veils together."

 

Seems like Daniel is not the only one who needs to have a social life then. Jarvie needed to be friends with other AIPAs too. That's if, Daniel was actually going to meet others who possess an AIPA. He definitely hoped to meet some soon.

 

“And for now, that’s all you need to know!” Jarvie finished and gave herself an applause.

 

Getting used to her antics, Daniel applauded as well, giving her some well-deserved encouragement.

 

"Wow," Daniel exhaled breathily, "All these-" making a circling motion with his hands, "They're simply amazing." He was simply awestruck by the information, is this what it's like to live in the future? It must be amazing. His anxiousness regarding The Hourglass Project was slowly fading and bubbling into excitement instead. He knew that he had a lot to get used to and if receiving Jarvie was any much of an indicator, it was definitely just the beginning.

 

**____________________**

 

Throughout the next five days, Daniel got his affairs in order effortlessly with the help of Jarvie. He sold his house, packed his belongings and had them placed in a storage service, wound up his business and invested the monetary rewards he received. When he called his mother, she had been surprisingly calm and even seemed delighted that he was chosen. She refused his money and reassured him that she had more than enough for herself. He was aghast when it dawned on him that he would not be able to see his beloved cats for a whole year, but his mother once again reassured him that they will be just fine in her care.

 

Daniel promptly dozed off at the three-minute mark of the hologram message sent by The Hourglass Corporation. But he definitely needed to know the main gist of the message sent. He sheepishly asked Jarvie to present him with all the necessary information in a summarised list - Daniel was very sure she would have refused if she were a regular human assistant - and it seems the only information he absolutely needed to know was that he had to report straight to The Hourglass Corporation at 9 o'clock the next day. Even his transport had arranged for. He didn't have to bring anything except for himself, but he was allowed to bring any objects that were significant to him.

 

Daniel briefly considered taking his plushies along but since he had no information about his living conditions - what if he had a judgmental roommate - he decided against it.

 

The Hourglass Project was the company's first foray into virtual simulations after years of research. They intended for this event to be broadcasted worldwide, mirroring a reality game-show format. When Daniel questioned Jarvie about the broadcast details, she replied that no information was given in the hologram, except that he would be receiving virtual-navigation training in the first month on The Fob.

 

_The Fob._

 

So that's what the place was called. Jarvie sieved through the Accessed Information and found photos of The Fob, which took "building sandcastles in the air" to a whole new level. There were, however, not many images available, perhaps for security reasons. What Daniel could make out was that it was a huge, concave structure, in a location suspended between the earth and skies, surrounded by fog, floating boulders, and vegetation.

 

"Impressive," Daniel whispered, not entirely convinced that such a place exists. But he will find that out the next day.

 

_____________________

 

"Jarvie, is there any way you can help me with my makeup?" Daniel asked feebly, realizing that the whole process will be broadcasted and he definitely wanted to look good, no, not just good. He had to be _devastatingly handsome_ on screen for the viewers. Does The Hourglass Corporation provide makeup artists? Are the people there surgically enhanced or something?

 

"Once you're in the virtual world, you can adjust your virtual self to look a certain way all the time. You don't need makeup. As for now, well- I can search for the best makeup video tutorials for you! Does that help?" Jarvie offers ecstatically.

 

Rubbing his temples, he traipsed towards his full-length mirror by the doorstep and gave himself a once-over.

 

His physique was superior, that much he was confident of. Having heard it a thousand times over whenever people chatted him up at the bar, men and women alike. With shoulders broader than the average male population, long muscular legs, and an advantageously proportioned body ratio, he grinned contentedly at his own image. His gaze flitted around lazily, humming in appreciation.

 

When he eventually caught sight of his face and bedraggled mop of chestnut-colored hair, he inhaled sharply, hands shooting up to cup his face.

 

“Oh God Jarvie, why do I look so haggard?! I swear I’m only 25, why do I look like I’m 35?!” Daniel lamented and patted around his face, willing his youth to return.

 

Unperturbed by his theatrics, Jarvie kept silent and allowed him to continue bemoaning the unfairness of youth.

 

Muttering further to himself, he found his way towards his refrigerator and scoured through the contents, trying to find a face mask or two that were often advertised to work miraculous wonders. Remarkably, he actually found one - granted it was expired - and quickly popped it on.

 

Flopping onto his bed and staring at his ceiling, Daniel recalled how all the members of The Hourglass Corporation shown on the broadcast looked ethereally beautiful. "With all the technology developed, has no one tried to invent some form of technology that allows you to swap a face without surgery?" Daniel mused out loud.

 

"Well, the ability to cast an illusion of another person’s image over oneself used to be available, but the creators removed it from the system when people started abusing that ability."

 

People abused that ability?

 

What could possibly have happened?

 

Daniel fell into a whirlwind of thoughts again when Jarvie interrupted him from his reverie.

 

"Master, the time is now 11:52 and I would suggest that you go to bed now to obtain the necessary eight hours of rest before reporting to The Hourglass Corporation tomorrow."

 

"Eww stop, don't call me Master." Daniel cringed inwardly.

 

"How would you prefer to be addressed then? Sir? Lord? King? God Daniel?" Jarvie asked with her tone crawling one octave higher each second, giggling to herself.

 

Rolling his eyes at his cheeky assistant of a person, non-person, he concluded that he just wanted to be called Daniel.

 

"How about Dani? That sounds more friendly!"

 

Surprised by his assistant that seemed to get more lifelike each passing day, he raised his eyebrows at her non-existent form. "Yeah sure, that sounds great."

 

"Yes, master."

 

Daniel cringed and huffed in exasperation while Jarvie guffawed in the most unladylike manner he could imagine.

 

**____________________**

 

The Day Has Come.

 

Hunched over his tiny kitchen counter, Daniel ate his breakfast absentmindedly.  A myriad of emotions coming onto him like an avalanche.

 

A whole new world, a world he had never seen before, of extremely advanced technology that he might not even be able to adapt to. He had no friends there, not that he had many to speak of currently. He had a lot of acquaintances, but none of them had been of great importance in his life, so much so that he hadn’t felt the need to bid them farewell. It’ll only be a year, he half-heartedly pacified himself. Hell, he didn’t even know what to expect. What was the training for? Was he doing to make it out alive? Did he really need that $100,000 so much that he so easily signed his life away?

 

“God, this is frustrating.” Daniel cursed and tousled his chestnut hair aggressively.

 

He should probably back out of it. He still had time. He could return them the money, put in extra effort into his business and it will definitely work out.

 

He could definitely do that.

 

Dumping his half-eaten cereal in the sink, Daniel scurried towards his laptop. He belatedly realized that he had already packed his belongings into boxes to be shipped off into storage, and also wound up the business. With Jarvie processing all the paperwork for him, he hadn’t thoroughly absorbed the fact that he _had_ also sold his house. Nothing felt tangible and it all seemed like a dream, a hallucination. Did he really sell the house already? Or was it all just games he played in his head?

 

Maybe he could…

 

“Dani, The Hourglass Corporation arranged for a vehicle to pick you up in 15 minutes. The reporters are already crowded outside your house and will be hounding you with questions. You have to proceed straight down to the basement and the vehicle will be waiting for you inside the car park.”

 

Daniel bolted towards the window of his apartment that overlooked the main street. True to her words, the media was in a frenzy and pushing their way through the security house. Further enforcement had been ratified and it was a rambunctious jumble of limbs and flashing cameras.

 

The reality of his circumstances presented itself irrevocably in his line of sight, and he knew he had to embrace his situation and overcome his fears. Why is he running away from something that could possibly be the adventure of his lifetime and furthermore, it will be broadcasted on national television, possibly worldwide as well?

 

He will be fine.

 

He supposes.

 

No way are they going to let him die on television. Sci-fi movies that he had watched over the years had always been sensational and awe-inspiring. Now that he’s stepping into the _real deal_ , it could be equally remarkable, possibly even leading to monumental scientific breakthroughs. Isn’t it? No more computer graphics and awkward green screens. He will be thrust into the heart of the most current research, the talk of the town, the spotlight of the world.

 

Daniel was unsure why he was chosen, but at the moment, he knew he wanted to make the best out of it.

 

Bursting with a new dose of positivity, he felt ready for once.

 

Ready for the future.

 

“Alright Jarvie, let’s go,” Daniel announced and confidently strode towards his front door, ready to traverse into the new world.

 

**____________________**

 

With clammy fingers and an overwrought mind, Daniel pressed the button to his elevator and shuffled from foot to foot, seeking any form of solace he could obtain.  

 

The pulleys of the elevator squeaked with the exertion of hoisting the elevator up to the fifth level where Daniel was on, the doors creaked open, revealing a shoddy excuse of an elevator, ripped wallpapers and cobwebs hanging off the ceilings.

 

Daniel sighed. He was more than ready to leave this dingy elevator, altogether with his bleak situation.

 

When the elevator hit the basement, Daniel squeezed his way through the doors before they had fully opened in an effort to escape the spiders. He hated those creepy-crawlies with a passion.

 

Shaking off the tingly sensation, he looked around for the car that was going to take him to The Hourglass Corporation.

 

“Jarvie, how do I know which one is it?” Daniel asked out loud. His voice echoed back at him from the basement and he winced, making a mental note that he could subvocalize instead.

 

“Don’t worry. You _will_ know.” Jarvie loftily declares. Most probably with a lopsided smile.

 

Scoffing at his unhelpful assistant, he bounced back and forth on his feet, looking around anxiously.

 

Then he saw it.

 

A black car- well, a black object glided towards him silently. It was shaped pretty much like a normal car, but fully rectangular and rounded at the edges. There were no doors nor wheels of any sort and it seemed to be a complete hunk of gleaming black metal, without any slits or openings.

 

Daniel gasped. Does that mean he has the ability to transcend space now? The thought of it made him giddy with excitement, while he stood beside the object, jaw gaping distastefully.

 

The basement carpark was thankfully empty, with no one to witness the embarrassing exchange. Sensing that Daniel was not making a move, Jarvie quibs in again. “Place your right palm on the surface.”

 

Interrupted from his fantasies of transcending space, Daniel pulled up his jaw and cleared his throat, hoping to still maintain a dignified image in front of his assistant. He really wasn’t sure why he bothered anyway. Swallowing his embarrassment, he placed his right palm on the surface of the object.

 

A red square materialized on the surface where his palm was in contact with, vibrations thrumming under his palm. When it was certain of his identity, it pinged with a green box again.

 

The Organization seemed big on palms and red-green boxes, he mused. He could get used to it.

 

As Daniel withdrew his arm, a vertical slit emerged from the top of the object, slicing its way down. The hunk of metal then compressed into its sides, opening up to reveal an entrance a door’s width in length.

 

Surveying the insides to make sure it was safe, Daniel was met with luxurious wine-colored seats resembling that of Victorian sofas. He had to admit that they looked terribly inviting.

 

“Hello?” Daniel stuck his head further into the vehicle, perhaps the driver was somewhere inside.

 

He was met with silence.

 

Driverless.

 

How did the development of technology go so far without most of the world knowing about it?

 

The object started beeping urgently and he frantically climbed into the vehicle, for fear of being dissected in half.

 

The metal slithered back into place, encapsulating him in the vehicle. Daniel watched as the slit that was previously an entrance disintegrate and it was a complete, unblemished hunk of metal once more.

 

The top half of the vehicle dwindled into transparency, revealing the outside world to Daniel.

 

He looked out and was startled to realize that the vehicle had already started moving, gliding so smoothly that he wasn’t even aware of any movement.

 

The vehicle sailed towards the sunlight and they were now out in the open.

 

Daniel froze.

 

Though the vehicle was sound-proof, he could see reporters jabbing their microphones hysterically in his direction. Their expressions contorted into hideous facial movements that were muted as if he was watching a zombie apocalypse movie without audio.

 

He perspired nervously and squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, attempting to school his expression into a stoic one.

 

“They cannot see you, relax,” came Jarvie’s cheerful voice again.

 

Daniel let out an exaggerated breath and sank into the seats.

 

Thankfully.

 

He wouldn’t have known what to say, what kind of expression to maintain, nor any proper broadcasting etiquette he was expected to possess.

 

The vehicle floated onto the main street and looked distinctly out of place among all the regular cars. Passer-bys started looking on curiously and some drivers even swerved into his vehicle’s lane just so they could whip out their phones to obtain footage, precariously balancing driving and recording the most bizarre object they had ever laid their eyes on.

 

The vehicle reached the end of the road and took it upon itself to crank up the impressiveness-meter a notch, ascending into the skies, leaving Daniel boggle-eyed.

 

The windows tinted to an almost opaque filter, most likely in consideration for the passenger’s fear of heights.

 

Taking another a deep breath, Daniel braced himself.

 

Things have begun.

 

**____________________**

 

At some point, Daniel dozed off again, many thanks to the classical music that Jarvie started playing to calm his nerves.

 

Harsh lights invaded his vision even with his eyes closed, causing Daniel to stir from his sleep.

 

Shielding his eyes from the intrusion, he pushed himself up to gather his thoughts and adjust to the brightness around him.

 

His pupils gradually constricted and the throbbing in his head dulled to a faint thud, allowing him to absorb his surroundings properly.  

 

Daniel was enthralled.

 

He was suspended in the air, with fog and clouds floating languidly around his vehicle. The top half had turned transparent once again, allowing Daniel to drink in his surroundings, in a bid to let him have a better idea of where he was.

 

Huge boulders that defied gravity came into view, vegetation and flora growing lushly on them, with vines hanging off the bottom. The vehicle weaved its way around the boulders and went particularly near one of the boulders, avoiding it by a fraction of an inch. Up close, Daniel felt extremely small, feeling like an insect in the land of behemoths.

 

Unable to keep his jaw in place, he beheld his surroundings in wonderment. He placed his palms on the partition, almost able to touch the clouds that looked suspiciously like cotton candy.

 

Daniel felt himself tilt backward as the vehicle climbed upwards once more, breaking through a fog of clouds, it emerged above it victoriously and a magnificent structure came into view.

 

“What on earth?”

 

Daniel was blown away by the herculean complex looming above him. It was a concave structure, its boundaries blending in with the clouds and further than the eye can see. Majority of the outer shell was blindingly white, camouflaging seamlessly into the clouds. If one did not look carefully, it was easy to miss the colored specks interspersed across the structure.

 

The vehicle continued on its programmed journey and honed in one of the colored specks. As it approached the bottom of the complex, a claw-like structure came into view. The vehicle positioned itself beneath the claw, its pressure dipping as it was sucked up by the claw with significant magnetic force.

 

“Access approved.” The genderless robotic voice thundered. Mechanical sounds buzzed above the vehicle, preparing to collect the vehicle into its cold, metallic embrace.

 

Above the claw, a compartment slid open and the vehicle was slowly pulled upwards, inching its way into the complex. Once the vehicle was swallowed safely into The Fob, the compartment shut itself close, cutting Daniel off from the outside world.

 

The door of the vehicle reappeared and it’s entire being vibrated and puffed before stilling itself, signaling that it had completed its job.

 

Fighting against a mixture of fear and anticipation, Daniel cautiously stepped out of the vehicle.

 

“Entrant Kang Daniel identified.” The genderless, robotic voice boomed.

 

Somewhere in the room, a switch went off and lights flooded the room.

 

“Welcome to The Fob.”

 

**____________________**

 

Expecting a grand welcome, Daniel was disappointed to be greeted by black panels and artificial voices yet again.

 

He had truly been devoid of human-touch and desperately needed to come in contact with a living, breathing human.

 

In hopes of accelerating the process, he marched towards the black panels that he assumed were doors.

 

Getting used to the hijinks of this world, he placed his right palm on the door. The red square appeared at once and flashed green, granting him access.

 

The black panels opened up, and Daniel stepped into yet another brightly lit room, with no furniture nor any telltale of existence. The panels slid shut and encased him in the room.

 

He peered around, waiting for the next instruction.

 

“Disinfection activated.” The voice boomed again.

 

Looking down at his feet, Daniel felt a jelly-like substance enveloping him, starting from his feet and rapidly spreading upwards. He stood stock-still and his breath hitched when the jelly-like substance crawled up his neck and seemed to have no intention of ceasing its movements.

 

How is he going to breathe?

 

Before he could contemplate further, the jelly-like substance completely swaddled his entire being, hardened and tightened its grip around him.

 

Daniel attempted to breathe but found himself unable to do so, further paralyzing him with fear.

 

Without any warning, loud whirring sounds blared above him and a gush a hot air assaulted Daniel. The hardened cocoon that was holding him melted away, along with all his clothes, leaving him stark naked in the middle of the room.

 

That, was some kind of disinfection.

 

Daniel gathered his wits and concluded that he must have completed the disinfection process. He had never felt cleaner in his life.

 

Another set of panels before him slid open, and Daniel sauntered through them with ease.

 

This time, he was welcomed into a clean and cozy room, which immediately made him feel at home. A huge, yellow, circular sofa sat in the middle of the room, decked with fluffy blue and white pillows. The white marble flooring felt cool under Daniel’s feet, and the walls were painted in a friendly cream color. There was even a counter to the left adorned with drinks and snacks, beckoning Daniel to snatch them up.

 

Delighted with his surroundings, Daniel couldn’t wait to wolf down the snacks when he noticed a door to the right and realized he was still, very much naked.

 

Worrying that someone might walk in through the door at any time, he made a show of covering his privy parts and looked around for a space to hide. Behind the sofa, perhaps?

 

He finally noticed a rack of clothes in the far left corner of the room and bolted towards it. On the rack hung clothes that were definitely tailored to his size. He often had problems finding shirts that fit his shoulders width, and pants that could cover his ankles.  He hastily shrugged on the form-fitting black shirt, made of the softest cotton material, yet thick enough to ensure durability. He slipped into the high-waisted black cargo pants, somehow they felt extremely comfortable and velvety. Tucking the ends of his pants into his sock-like sneakers, Daniel stood up to appraise his appearance in the mirror.

 

He noticed that something seemed to be vastly different about himself, and the realization came upon him with dramatically widened eyes.

 

His hair was black!

 

Strange.

 

The disinfection probably stripped any form of foreign material that even hair dye went along with it.

 

Impressive.

 

Yet scary.

 

**____________________**

 

Daniel wandered around the room, helping himself to the snacks and drinks. The flavors burst in his mouth and his palette decided that he had never tasted anything so good before. He was definitely going to ask for more of them if he was allowed.

 

Daniel waited idly for someone, anyone, to come and collect him.

 

Jarvie even played the Spiderman movie on the Veil for him, much to his glee.

 

Daniel was teetering on the edge, gripping the seats as the movie hit the climax. He held his breath in anticipation even though he had watched the movie countless times.

 

Daniel flinched when an explosion happened in the movie while simultaneously, a man burst explosively into the room, stalking towards Daniel.

 

Daniel shot to his feet, the Veil disappearing immediately and he glanced at his feet as if a teacher had caught him in the middle of a prohibited act.

 

He stared at the man’s feet with rapt attention, noting that they wore the same shoes and pants.

 

Silence.

 

He scarcely allowed his eyes to drift upwards by a hair’s breadth and realized that the man was wearing the same outfit as him, with the addition of what must be a white lab-coat around him. Daniel concluded that he must be a doctor, or perhaps a scientist.

 

Daniel briefly remembered that the bulk of the processes happening on The Fob required copious amounts of research, hence a "scientist" would seem like a more plausible answer. Unless they deemed that he needed a full medical check-up upon entering The Fob?

 

The scientist (perhaps a doctor) was lithe and tall, his pants and shirt a little too tight for Daniel’s liking. Not that it stopped him from appreciating the view, but it definitely hindered the part of his brain that processes speech.

 

Daniel couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering upwards, every inch more beautiful than the last, finally reaching the man’s pale and graceful neck. Daniel was sure that he was unmistakably a very _very_ attractive man.

 

“Hi. You’re Kang Daniel.” A soothing, slightly nasally voice spoke just before Daniel’s eyes could complete their journey of tracing the stranger’s beauty. Startled, Daniel darted his eyes downwards again. The man sounded slightly irritated, yet also carrying a coddling-tone, as if he was speaking to a child.

 

Noting that it wasn’t posed as a question, Daniel continued staring at the man’s feet, unsure of what to make of a response. He thought of himself as mostly a confident and friendly person, but he couldn’t understand why he was currently being reduced to a muted mess.

 

Along with the ludicrous new environment that he had just been thrust into, he was overwhelmed.

 

“Hey erm, don’t worry. I know that this whole thing must be really new and crazy for you. We’re here to help you. You can call me-”

 

The door to the room abruptly burst open again and a young teenage boy barreled in, eyes wide and frantic, hair wild and flying in all directions.

 

“I’m sorry! I was talking to Jinyoung and we got carried away because there was something very interesting that happened a few days ago so I was trying to describe the story to him fully and…”

 

“Daehwi...” The scientist, whom Daniel assumed to hold a more superior position, chastised in warning.

 

“Please don’t tell my sister…” the boy whimpered pitifully.

 

Daniel gaped at the mess of a boy who came flying through the door, and he gulped his saliva in fear, waiting for a verdict from the older man.

 

The boy was also wearing a similar outfit and a lab-coat, but with significantly fewer badges and emblems embellishing his left breast-pocket. Making an educated guess, Daniel decided that he must be The Attractive Scientist’s assistant.

 

Tugging the boy to stand behind him, The Attractive Scientist cleared his throat and directed his attention to Daniel again.

 

“Hi, I’m Ong Seongwu, a scientist in The Hourglass Corporation, and you’re assigned to my cadre. And this,” he gestured to the boy he held protectively behind him, “is Lee Daehwi, a researcher in the cadre. Sorry, we kept you waiting.”

 

Taking the pause as a cue to introduce himself, Daniel bravely looked up and into the man’s eyes.

 

**____________________**

 

Daniel gawked shamelessly at the man in front of him.

 

He was sure that he was supposed to introduce himself but his articulatory functions have long failed him.

 

The man looked out of this world.

 

Well technically, Daniel didn’t know where he was. They were very likely in the most literal sense, outside of the world, or close to the edge. And this man was the literal definition of that phrase.

 

As they continued to stare at each other in silence, the length of time became increasingly uncomfortable and the man, Ong Seongwu he said, fidgeted uncomfortably.

 

“Dani!” Jarvie hissed at him. What perfect timing. “Introduce yourself, don’t just stand there!”

 

Regaining his senses, and possibly part of his soul - he wasn’t so sure about his brain cells though - he hurriedly introduced himself.

 

“It’s alright. I was making myself at home here. The snacks taste amazing! And I’m Daniel! You can call me Niel, or you can call me tonight.” He beamed at Seongwu.

 

Daehwi gasped.

 

Jarvie sighed.

 

Clasping his hand to his mouth, his brain belatedly registering the fact that he had unconsciously thrown out a terrible pick-up line to a stranger, albeit an absolutely gorgeous one, that he just met.

 

He was sure that the boy, Daehwi, knew the pick-up line wasn’t directed to him.

 

Great. He hopes that Seongwu doesn’t think he was a flirtatious man.

 

Daniel honestly wasn’t attempting to flirt. He definitely wouldn’t call it “love at first sight” either. His situation absolutely did not fit into any of those categories.

 

How does he even begin to explain his unconscious actions?

 

It was probably a whole commixture of factors; starting from his complete lack of human-interactions - pleasant human interactions - for the past few months. A sudden stroke of luck that plucked him out from his mundane, though comfortable, lackluster life and catapulted him into a crazy and unknown world. He desperately needed an anchor, a stronghold, to latch onto. And Seongwu had been the first person to welcome him when he finally clawed his way out of the darkness.

 

Daniel knew he should not be allowing his emotions to run wild but the moment he looked Seongwu in the eye, the floodgates of his pent-up grievances and loneliness had been thrown open and he simply had to find an anchor to hold on to. His brave front now completely shattered.

 

He was all alone, in an unknown world. He honestly couldn’t fully comprehend how fearful he was and all he wanted to do was to repress that fear and face things bravely.

 

Tears threatened to form in his eyes as he fought to reign in his chaotic feelings.

 

Realising that Daniel was on the verge of mental breakdown, understandably so as with many newcomers on The Fob, Seongwu reached out and touched Daniel’s arm gently.

 

“Seems like I will be calling you tonight.” Seongwu answered ambiguously, “We could also arrange for more of those snacks to be placed in your living quarters if you’d like.” He added on, voice tender and careful.

 

Daniel tensed and looked at Seongwu’s hand that was barely touching his own arm, a ghost of a caress upon his skin, and carefully turned to look at Seongwu.

 

“Thank you,” Daniel mumbled almost inaudibly.

 

Seongwu looked at the Daniel intently and held his gaze as he spoke.

 

“I’ll help you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! Ong and also Daehwi~ Their cute little team awww I love them so much. 
> 
> I hope y'all liked the scifi-esque happenings and that the descriptions were good enough to help you imagine their world.
> 
> I actually wanted to release this chapter before I went to Busan, but I had to rewrite the part where Daniel first met Ong a few times because I really wanted to set their dynamics right. It's not just their outward appearances, but their bond is way deeper than that. 
> 
> Do tell me what y'all like! And perhaps make some guesses on the other members too! My twitter is @dearr_daniell is anyone wants to DM me keke. You can even suggest names for other characters in the story if you'd like!
> 
> See y'all in a bit~ Till then!


	5. Venturing Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with a huge open heaven, Daniel stepped out of the glass tube and looked up and all around him, spinning around a few times while trying to ingrain the view into his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are venturing out into The Fob!
> 
> Enjoy~

“Well, shall we introduce you to your living quarters first?” Seongwu beamed at Daniel in what he hopes to be a warm and friendly smile, yet not coming off as overly friendly. He really needs a detailed scale of what is considered friendly and what isn’t. Why are people from Earth so complicated?

 

Seongwu lived on The Fob for the majority of his life, occasionally venturing onto Earth for field trips to have a “better understanding” of why their work is so urgent and of paramount importance. In Seongwu’s opinion, he really didn’t have to go down to Earth to understand why it warranted copious amounts of research to remedy it. It was terrible. He absolutely did not understand why people would choose to live on Earth and not on The Fob. Perhaps this broadcast was the right decision then, more people will come to know what The Fob is all about, having been shrouded in secrecy all this time, and it was clear that their environment was significantly better. Since the invention of the Veil years ago, Seongwu had indulged in movies from Earth, which further cemented his belief that Earth was not worth living in. He still found the movies interesting as they were not produced on The Fob. Well, they do. Educational movies and the likes. But, not for entertainment.

 

Entertainment on The Fob may be considered a little backward in “Earth terms”, but Seongwu felt that it was, in fact, a re-establishment of good practices. From his observations and research, it would seem that humans’ main form of entertainment was all virtual. Phone games, video games, reading on the devices, phone calls and more. Does nobody connect on a more intimate basis? That isn’t progression, in Seongwu’s view.

 

On The Fob, they had weekly community gatherings where everyone took a trip to outer space for excursions, though it was still virtual, it presented to them real planets and constellations. Monthly themed parties were held in lavish venues and everyone had to participate. It may seem excessive but since everything was virtual, they were free to conjure anything up, way beyond their wildest dreams.

 

Seongwu personally loved the monthly themed parties, every theme more exciting than the last. New ideas constantly shocked all in attendance and made him dream bigger than what he already was doing. Of course, the food was bountiful and extravagant, and the costumes they got to choose from were always creatively amusing. He has dressed up as a prince, elf, alien, a flowerpot, fantasy characters with dyed skin. He even had to attend in an “ant” costume before, somehow it was so authentic that everyone crawled around in ant-fashion. That month's theme was the “Ant Colony” and Seongwu was indubitably impressed by the magnificent structure created for the party. Ladders and tubes sprawling across a giant complex to resemble an ant hive. People - in their ant costumes actually - running everywhere through the complex, getting food, chatting, playing games and definitely, dancing.

 

A week before each party, a communiqué is sent to their AIPAs, with instructions for the venue, theme, the costumes they could choose from, and the designated choreography and music. It’s not difficult usually. It was a revival of the Victorian era culture, usually a piece of orchestral music and a few sets of simple moves that everyone has to learn and dance together at the party. Most of the time, it’s a repetitive pas de deux - step for two. As the music goes on, the steps are repeated and each time, they will dance with a different partner, everyone mingling together in good fun. It was Seongwu’s favorite pastime, notwithstanding reading of course. Reading on The Fob, was a completely different experience.

 

However, now that he was tasked to The Hourglass Project, he had to be away from that usual routine for some time. Sighing wistfully, he focused his attention back on his responsibility, which now manifested in the form of a person - Daniel.

 

Taking in the sight of Daniel’s nervousness, Seongwu ambled over to the snacks counter and grabbed hold of a few snacks. He then gestured to the circular sofa and motioned for all of them to take a seat, although Daehwi looked like he was about to bolt out any moment from the uncomfortable mood they were plunged in. Seongwu hadn't planned for it to turn out like this and hoped to steer their little group towards harmony and cohesiveness.

 

Daniel sat down cautiously and took the snack Seongwu offered him. Daniel wolfed the snack down and calmed himself, taking deep breaths and willed his anxiety to fade away. Fortunately, Seongwu seemed to effectively melt away all his anxieties just by speaking in his soothing voice.

 

“Like I mentioned, the three of us will be in the same cadre. So, welcome to our little team here.” Seongwu clasped his hands together to brighten up the mood in the room. Daniel cracked a smile at that.

 

“I understand it can be a little...” little lines appeared on Seongwu’s forehead as he attempted to settle on an appropriate word, “...overwhelming. Life on The Fob is truly very different from Earth.”

 

The sound of a package being ripped open cut through Seongwu’s attempt at making an encouraging and awe-inspiring speech. Daniel had begun on his third snack in the midst of Seongwu’s speech.

 

Taking it as Daniel’s way of coping with stress, Seongwu picked up from where he left off again.

 

“Fortunately, the aren't many people on The Fob now.”

 

The crunching noise stopped and Daniel expressed his surprise at Seongwu’s revelation.

 

“I meant, physically.” Seongwu struggled to find a suitable explanation and jumped when Daehwi started speaking. He had forgotten that the boy was even with them, seeing that he’s usually more animated and talkative.

 

“What Professor Seongwu meant is, the majority of the people on The Fob are actually in the virtual realm. Only the members involved in The Hourglass Project have come back to the physical realm. To welcome the Entrants.” Daehwi scrunched his button nose, nearly sneering out the last sentence. “So, you will find The Fob to be very vast and very empty. Once we enter into Decagon, our virtual world, you’ll realise that it’s a bustling and vibrant place!”

 

Clapping his hands in delight, Daehwi expressed his eagerness to return to Decagon. Daniel wished he could contain the same excitement as well.

 

Feeling a better grasp of his situation, Daniel began to loosen up as the pair explained more about life on The Fob to him. He finds out that the majority of their time would be spent in Decagon, where their virtual world is, where anything and everything could be conjured in the virtual realm. Daniel’s jaw slackens at the thought. The possibilities would be endless, all the things that he had ever dreamed of doing, or things that he haven’t even had the capacity to dream of, they could be achieved in Decagon.

 

“...but you won’t be cryopreserved, since you have not reached twenty-five years of age in full.”

 

“Cry what? Who?”

 

The foreign terms used snapped Daniel’s attention back to what the pair were explaining to him.

 

Chuckling at his innocent guilelessness, Seongwu leans back into the sofa to adopt a more relaxed position.

 

“Cryopreservation. It means that a human body is preserved, basically, it’s like putting your body into a block of ice. In that way, it won’t age when you’re inside The Decagon. But you won’t be cryopreserved, since you’re not yet twenty-five full years of age.”

 

Taking a sip of the water, Seongwu hopes that Daniel could take in all this information well. Thankfully, Daniel nodded and motioned for Seongwu to continue.

 

“Alright!” Seongwu clapped his hands together. “Enough of all this mind-boggling, eye-popping information, let’s get to your accommodations and you can catch some sleep before dinner.” Daniel giggled at Seongwu’s abrupt enthusiasm, inwardly thankful for someone that genuinely seemed to care for him.

 

“Who talks like that?” Daehwi grumbled derisively. “That’s so old.”

 

“Excuse me, young man, I will have you know that my choice of words are deliberate and furthermore,” he made a grand gesture of presenting Daniel’s state, “he’s laughing. That would mean that, it’s funny and has achieved the desired effect.” Seongwu flashed an annoying smirk at Daehwi.

 

Rolling his eyes, Daehwi huffed in disbelief. The professor always seemed to take pleasure in bothering him, Daehwi hoped that the professor would direct his antics towards the new Entrant instead. “You old dudes can hang out together. May I be dismissed?”

 

Seongwu bit back a laugh, enjoying himself a tad too much by annoying his newly assigned assistant. He had watched the child grow into his teenage years and knew he meant no ill-intentions. “Yes Herald Daehwi, you’re dismissed from further duties today. Shoo.” Seongwu waved him away good-naturedly.

 

Daehwi made a show of curtsying before sprinting out of the room. Mostly likely in search of the previously mentioned friend.

 

Seongwu turned to Daniel and smiled warmly at him again, “Shall we?”

 

Daniel nodded a little too earnestly and knew that he had to control the somersaults his heart was making for the umpteenth time that day, he eagerly lapped up whatever the stunning scientist had to say, words like dripping honey from his mouth.

 

When Seongwu stood up abruptly and stomped out of the room, Daniel was taken aback. Did he do something wrong again?

 

“Seong- Professor- Errr… sir? Did I do something wrong?” Daniel stuttered out as he quickly trailed behind Seongwu.

 

Turning around, Seongwu quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “No, of course not. What makes you say so?”

 

Daniel looked around uneasily and wrung his hands nervously, “Well uh- You kind of, walked- stomped out really angrily?” Daniel supplied meekly.

 

Throwing back his head in laughter, Seongwu almost felt apologetic toward Daniel. He really needed to stop assuming that Daniel would understand everything on The Fob.

 

“No,” Seongwu’s eyes twinkled in amusement, “it’s just well- I haven’t actually been using my physical body for a few years. I was cryopreserved too. So it’s a little…” Seongwu wriggled his arms about, “difficult?” Placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, he added, “But thank you for worrying about me, I’ll be fine.”

 

Daniel let out a shaky breath and scratched his neck in embarrassment. “Oh that’s- that’s great! I just- don’t want to be a nuisance or anything. I hope we can be closer,” he mumbled at the end, hoping Seongwu doesn’t catch it.

 

“Of course, I said I’ll help you didn’t I?” Seongwu clapped his back and Daniel smiled gratefully. “Also, please don’t call me Professor. That sounds really...” Seongwu made a wry face, “bad…”

 

“You can call me Seongwu hyung.”

 

Daniel broke into a wide smile and he felt an warmth gush over him, he really hoped to get closer to Seongwu fast.

 

“Sure! Seongwu hyung!”

 

__________

 

They quickly fell in step as Seongwu took Daniel along corridors, Daniel babbling on about his shocking experiences with the vehicle that brought him onto The Fob, the disinfection, and all the bizzare happenings that he has experienced so far. Seongwu listened and laughed heartily at his recounts, occasionally making appreciative sounds to indicate that he was listening.

 

Daniel paused mid-sentence in bewilderment when they stopped by the end of a corridor and Seongwu pressed his palm against a transparent, floor-to-ceiling glass tube, he shook his head and chuckled at Daniel’s childlike wonderment of their surroundings. He had long ceased to be amazed by The Fob’s magnificence. Now that he has to take a new Entrant under his wing, he is glad to have the opportunity to appreciate the world he is blessed to be living in again.

 

The glass tube slid open and Seongwu pulled Daniel into the tube. As the tube closed, the disc beneath their feet pushed upwards, propelling them towards the top. Daniel gasped and stumbled into Seongwu, grabbing him by his forearms. They burst into a fit of giggles and righted themselves again.

 

As the disc continued it’s journey upwards, they finally broke the surface and came out into the open.

 

Seongwu spread his arms and gestured to the open space, “Welcome to The Fob!” he exclaimed.

 

Faced with a huge open heaven, Daniel stepped out of the glass tube and looked up and all around him, spinning around a few times while trying to ingrain the view into his mind. It was a vast open space, the air fresh with the smell of new hopes and dreams. As Daniel squinted, he saw the discrepancies in the skies, seemingly like a transparent covering. Seongwu caught on his confusion quickly and patiently explained everything to him. The Fob was vast and encased in a dome structure, a biosphere to ensure they have oxygen and its atmospheric levels were adjusted to perfection. Elated at having a personal guide, Daniel rapidly fired questions, Seongwu patiently debunking each question gently. They talked about the skies, the flora, and fauna, the buildings, and structure. As they strode past a towering skyscraper with a rotating structure at the top, Seongwu explained that it was a viewing tower and promised to bring Daniel there to look at distant galaxies. Daniel nearly jumps around in excitement and also noted that there was indeed no one on The Fob, inadvertently causing him to press closer to Seongwu as they continued walking, in fear of being alone.

 

Stopping to catch his breath, Seongwu panted at the exertion from walking and talking for the past few minutes, or maybe hours, Seongwu didn’t know. Time seemed irrelevant to him now and he was feeling the exhaustion creep in due to the physical limitations of his current body which hasn't been used in years. “Daniel?”

 

Realizing that Seongwu sounded significantly exhausted, Daniel stopped his appreciation of the exotic flowers and bounded back to Seongwu’s side. “Yeah, hyung?”

 

Offering him a weak smile, Seongwu placed his palms on his knees, “As much as I would love to train up this physical body again, I’m really tired now. What do you say we go for dinner first? It’s almost time.”

 

“Of course, anything you say hyung.” Daniel looked on in concern and held Seongwu up by his arm, worried that he was about to faint anytime.

 

Seongwu muttered something incoherent while Daniel struggled to grasp what he just said. Before he could question further, two hoverboards flitted towards them and halted by their feet.

 

“I think you call this, taxi?” Seongwu chuckled and stepped on one of them, motioning Daniel to step on the other.

 

“I can’t really balance on this I-”

 

The two hoverboards snapped themselves together, and they were encased together in one huge bubble.

 

Seongwu grins at Daniel, “Well, I did say it’s a ‘taxi’, it’s called a Poize. But it can accomodate unlimited numbers. If we have 10 people, all the Poizes will converge together, and a huge bubble will envelope all of us in one Poize. I designed it.” Squaring his shoulders in apparent pride of his creation, Seongwu finds himself still holding Daniel by the elbow.

 

Thinking that Daniel’s eyes couldn’t possibly widen any further, but they did. “Wow hyung! You are- just- so amazing! Tell me more!” Daniel gushes in adoration while clinging on to Seongwu’s arm. He glanced at the decorum on Seongwu’s left breast-pocket and a sliver of insecurity flashed across his eyes. Noticing it immediately, Seongwu patted Daniel’s hand that was clinging onto his arm. “Once training starts, you’ll receive different emblems and badges too. Everyone has different ones according to their specializations.”

 

“Really?” Daniel pipes up excitedly, “Hyung I will work hard to attain more badges, wait for me!”

 

Seongwu graced Daniel with another of his beautiful smiles while they basked in the delightful atmosphere on the way to the dining area.

 

__________

 

Drifting along the far-flung expanse of The Fob, the scenery transformed from that of towering structures and floating apartments, to much more lush greenery and mountains. Seongwu showed an elevated interested when talking about the food they would be having.

 

Daniel discovers that they were headed towards a cozy dining cafeteria, nestled away in a cottage on the mountains. As there was only a handful of them physically on The Fob at the moment, The Hourglass Corporation had arranged for a chef to cater to their meals, only during designated hours everyday.

 

Seongwu spoke about the food in The Decagon with much enthuse, though they were virtual and not actual food being eaten, it was as good as being able to eat them anyway. How the flavors that would burst in his mouth, an infinitude of colors that came with the ostentatious banquets daily. Daniel’s mouth invariably watered at the images Seongwu was conjuring with his words.

 

As Seongwu prattled on, Daniel was abruptly hit by a wave of anxiety, causing him to buckle in half as he held his head.

 

“Daniel! What’s happening?” Seongwu flailed his arms around and crouched down, holding onto Daniel protectively. He noticed that beads of sweat had begun to form on his temples. Daniel was mumbling incoherently and waving his hands about in frantic gestures.

 

“What do you mean!” Daniel shrieked out, talking to no one in particular, about to pass out from anxiety.

 

Seongwu cupped Daniel face to urge him back into reality, “Daniel, look at me.”

 

Daniel’s clouded vision cleared marginally as he struggled to focus on Seongwu’s voice.

 

“Yes, stay with me, Daniel. Focus on my voice. Relax.” Seongwu brushed Daniel’s hair as he coaxed Daniel’s attention to come back to him.

 

Mustering all his willpower, Daniel tuned out the chaos in his mind and zeroed in on Seongwu’s voice, feeling his senses return to him.

 

“What was that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Another chapter that I really enjoyed writing! Crafting the surroundings and all! I had wanted to include the "Dinner" portion where they meet other people, but I was rushing two written submissions and decided this would be great as well.
> 
> What do y'all think happened?! Keke. (Hint: It's nothing serious.)
> 
> I wanted Ong and Niel to get along well from the start because that's how they actually are, they got close really fast and just complement each other really well. So yes! It'll be warm and fluffy. The main "problems" will come from the sci-fi setting of the story.
> 
> Next chapter features other members and also people outside of Wanna One! (All my biases are truly exhibited in the story lolol. It helps to have faces to put to names when I'm crafting the main novel hurhur.) See y'all soon!
> 
> Come chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment! Appreciate it! :)


	6. A Helpmate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They surveyed the premises in hushed whispers and silent gasps, afraid to taint the magnificence of the abode. Soon after, Daniel gave into fatigue and fell into a deep slumber, his face mirroring the sweet dreams he was having.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Celebrating Wanna One's 1-year debut anniversary and also Minhyun's birthday! Here we go~

“Dani! We’re being attacked!” Jarvie’s distressed tone came through will a shrill note and it induced a wave of anxiety to overtake Daniel as a form of self-defense. 

 

Daniel doubled over in fear, in shock and complete confusion at the unexpected turn of events. His heartbeat was running a thousand miles a minute and he was unable to focus on his surroundings. 

 

“What do you mean!” he shrieked out.

 

A few more shock waves rippled through Daniel as Jarvie grappled with the situation, unsure of what had transpired.

 

“There’s someone- something- trying to invade our security system! It’s constantly knocking- no, it’s pounding on our defense walls!” Jarvie cried hysterically and it terrified Daniel, for he didn’t know what was happening either. He was just as confused and felt the need to protect himself, from whoever this intruder was.

 

He felt a pair of arms envelope him and his attention was drawn from within to his outer surroundings. Right. He was in a Poize, floating miles above land, not trapped in his mind. 

 

He faintly heard Seongwu calling him, struggling to focus on his voice and not on the chaos taking place within him. His head spun and he tried his best to zero-in on Seongwu’s voice, hoping he would be able to help him.

 

Summoning up whatever was left of his willpower, he homed-in on Seongwu’s voice, clinging to it like a lifeline.

 

“-that’s right, Daniel. Relax.” Seongwu’s soothing voice pushed through the chaos and reached into his conscious, allowing Daniel to grasp onto it and root himself in reality.

 

Daniel’s vision came into focus and Seongwu’s worried expression came into view, “What was that?” Daniel breathed out raspily.

 

Relief took over Seongwu’s features and he relaxed his grip on Daniel, falling backward as he sat on the floor of the Poize. 

 

“Why not- you tell me what happened?” 

 

Slumping onto the floor after Seongwu, Daniel thinks for a moment, ambivalent of the situation as well. He could only recount that he was overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety and that Jarvie mentioned something trying to breach into their security system.

 

“Jarvie?”

 

“Oh, uh. That’s my AIPA. I named her Jarvie.”

 

Seongwu’s expression was unreadable, processing what Daniel had just told him. While it was not unheard of for possessors to name their AIPAs, it wasn’t the most common practice as well. Most possessors see it as a necessary object to own, instead of an interactive being. Seongwu had named his own AIPA as well, Mark, but he hasn’t heard of anyone else doing that.

 

Realising that Daniel wasn't the best person to question, Seongwu catches on that it was probably an issue with Daniel’s AIPA- Jarvie.

 

“Mark,” placing a finger on his cheek to activate his AIPA, “I believe we have Daniel’s AIPA number in our system, could you reach out to it and find out what’s wrong?” Seongwu subvocalized with a practised ease, having been gifted an AIPA since he was 17. 

 

“On it, Mister amazing and dashing Seongwu!” 

 

Seongwu would have scoffed at his AIPA if not for the current dire situation. His AIPA seemed to adore him, coming up with a new dignifying titles for him every other day. 

 

“What- who! No!” Daniel screamed and doubled over again, almost falling face first into the floor if not for Seongwu catching him by the shoulders and holding onto him.

 

“Mark! What’s happening?”

 

“I’m just trying to contact his AIPA, but there’s probably ten to twenty extra layers of defense walls that his AIPA erected around itself. It’s like an impenetrable wall. It seems, his AIPA is trying to protect him?”

 

Seongwu’s eyes widened at the information, he has never heard of an AIPA increasing its own defense walls in the security systems. Or rather, he didn’t know they had to ability to do so. Furthermore, Mark had definitely implied that Jarvie did it on her own accord, not by Daniel’s instructions. That was, in fact, fascinating. However, things unheard of were always dangerous if someone with vicious intentions finds out. Seongwu had to ascertain what was going on first.

 

Deciding to speak to Daniel’s AIPA directly, Seongwu held Daniel tightly in his arms and spoke out loud.

 

“Jarvie, hey there. I know you can hear me.” he begins gently. “I’m not very sure what is happening, but my AIPA is trying to establish a connection with you now to find out what happened. He is AIPA08251996OSW, or simply called Mark, could you establish a connection with him, please? We’re not going to harm Daniel, promise.” 

 

A Call-Up flashed into Seongwu’s mind and he saw an amethyst purple gem amidst a lightless and vast universe. It was encased in layers and layers of tinted glass. Millions of purple lines stemmed from the gemstone, but none ventured out from its protective fort. They all bunched together in a tangled mess within their fortified walls. Mark had shown many of these images to Seongwu before, explaining that it was the AIPA’s realm and the lines represented different connections and information routes. Every AIPA came in various colors and hues, each embracing a unique identity relevant to their possessor.

 

Mark’s gemstone was a sunset orange and he too, had security layers around him, ensuring nothing could invade Seongwu’s private information and knowledge. However, his fort had hundreds of microscopic holes, allowing the orange lines to reach out from within, to obtain information and establish connections with other people. It’s whole being radiated a bright sunset orange glow. Warm and inviting. Despite that, Mark had been programmed to embody a top-notch security system as Seongwu’s work on The Fob was highly classified and to-date, it has never been breached before.

 

Slowly, the layers of glass surrounding Jarvie reduced in number, leaving Seongwu stunned by its ability. An AIPA’s self-conclusion of a threat and attempt to protect its possessor. It wasn’t a mindless technological device. Though fascinated, Seongwu felt an urgency to find out the details as well.

 

An amethyst purple line wriggled its way through the layers of defense, penetrating through the glass walls and peeked out meekly at the final layer. Mark’s sunset orange line hovered around the peripherals, not going further for fear of scaring away Jarvie. 

 

Assured that the sunset orange line was Mark, the amethyst purple line hesitantly reached out and their ends fused together, establishing a connection. 

 

The Call-Up faded away and Seongwu’s vision cleared. He noticed that Daniel had by now slumped sideways into his arms, his upper body in Seongwu’s lap while Seongwu’s arms were still tightly encircled around Daniel’s shoulders. A whiff of Daniel’s peach-flavoured shampoo wafted by, and Seongwu laughed at the absurdity of the the situation.

 

“Getting chummy real quick, aren’t we?” he chuckled and maneuvered Daniel to sit upright. He hoped that Mark will find out the details in the meantime.

 

As the Poize drew near to the cottage, Seongwu directed it (through Mark, of course, having an AIPA was like having a universal remote control sometimes) to land some distance away so that they could compose themselves and avoid encountering other inhabitants. Daniel had yet to come out of his daze completely and Seongwu did not want to risk anyone seeing him like this, stirring up unnecessary attention.

 

The Poize landed smoothly, and Seongwu pulled Daniel to his feet.

 

“Daniel, we’re going to have dinner now and we will probably meet the other Entrants as well. Before we figure out what happened just now, let’s keep this between us (and our AIPAs) first, alright?”

 

He brushed Daniel’s hair gently, feeling a protective instinct swell up within him, surprising himself as well.

 

Shaken but still aware of his surroundings, Daniel nodded and grinned shyly to himself. He looked to be enjoying Seongwu’s affections way more than he was actually worried about the situation.

 

**__________**

 

“Seongwu! You’re here! You’ll definitely love what’s on the menu today! They’ve got- Oh, is this Daniel?” 

 

They stepped through the large wooden doors into the cottage and were hit with the scent of pinewood and fine food. 

 

A tall and elegant man noticed Seongwu immediately and lumbered his way over, legs spread in an awkward stance. 

 

He must be cryopreserved too, Daniel thought and noted that the man was also exquisitely beautiful, an air of aristocracy and regality about him. Though he didn’t give him the same butterfly-inducing feelings like Seongwu did.

 

He was dressed in a similar full-black training outfit as Daniel was in, leaving Daniel unable to decipher what the man's occupation or position. As he came closer, Daniel noticed a flash of miniature, round, colored badges sewn into the left sleeve of his training t-shirt. Those must be the modified version of his accolades then. Daniel gazed dismally at his own left sleeve that was still miserably empty, while the man probably had ten or more, displayed neatly in two rows. 

 

“Hey Min,” Seongwu chortled and moved to give him a hug, “I’m absolutely famished. And yes, this is Daniel.” Seongwu gestures lightheartedly for Daniel to introduce himself.

 

Feeling oddly self-conscious, Daniel stuck out his right hand to introduce himself to the man Seongwu had called Min when a loud and piercing laugh screeched through the cafeteria.

 

“Minhyun hyung they’re serving pizza today! It’s the absolute best can you believe it, PIZZA!” 

 

A round-cheeked, innocent-looking young man bumbled towards Seongwu and Min while excitedly waving his slice of pizza, the remaining plate of pizza in his hands threatening to fly off the handle.

 

“Hwan, my dear, please be careful.” said elegant man turned to the shorter man and swiftly took the plate from his hands. Min indicated towards Daniel with a jerk of his chin and placed the pizza on the nearest table.

 

“Sorry about that, we get pretty enthusiastic about food over here,” laughing amicably, he stuck out his hand towards Daniel, “My name is Hwang Minhyun, Seongwu’s friend and a fellow scientist.” 

 

Muttering a string of “don’t worry”s and “it’s not a problem”, Daniel shook Minhyun’s hand firmly and introduced himself as well, hoping to come off as a confident person. 

 

He then turned his attention towards the shorter man, holding his gaze with a questioning look.

 

The man hastily shoved the slice of pizza into his mouth and wiped down his hands on his pants before holding it out to Daniel as well. “Hi! I’m Kim Jaehwan! I’m an Entrant too. Nice to meet you Daniel!”

 

Daniel grimaced slightly at Jaehwan’s pizza-greased hands, but still shook his hand firmly to make a good impression.

 

“I heard that we have the same physical age!” Jaehwan continues, as excited as ever.

 

Physical age? Is there a need to give it a separate term? 

 

Daniel choked out a laugh that sounded a tad too forced, but he couldn't help it. “Yeah? Well, that’s great to hear!”

 

Minhyun clears his throat awkwardly and picked up the plate of pizza again. “Well, I sure hope that you both will enjoy your dinner. The food is great!” With that, he flashed a tight-lipped smile at Seongwu and ushered Jaehwan away, still walking in a duck-stanced fashion.

 

Daniel’s gaze followed Minhyun and Jaehwan while his mind wandered aimlessly until he felt someone tug at his hand. “Come on, let’s go find out what’s for dinner today.” 

 

___________________

 

Soon enough, Daniel and Seongwu decided on pizza and pasta, with Seongwu declaring that the beef pasta will be the best thing Daniel has even eaten. They settled into a table for two by the balcony, overlooking a valley burgeoning with pastel blue blooms. More mountains stretched out before Daniel’s eyes, standing proudly in a majestic stance.

 

“There are no crustaceans in the menu plan today, so don’t worry-”

 

“You know about my crustacean allergies?” Daniel inquired absentmindedly, pleasantly surprised that Seongwu knew and even brought it up in a casual context.

 

Seongwu tensed slightly, seeming to catch himself before letting out a strained laugh, “Yeah, of course. It’s in your profile, I had to go through it before you came on The Fob.”

 

Of course, Daniel affirms. Seongwu was technically “in-charge” of him. He smiles assuringly and decided not to probe further, contented that Seongwu was so attuned to him.

 

Right on cue, a waiter arrived with the orders, eradicating any further conversation as they devoured the food with their eyes, followed by their mouths.

 

Seongwu tucked into his meal gleefully, dropping compliments every few seconds, showing great appreciation for the food. Daniel hummed in agreement, contented to hear Seongwu rave about the food while he observed the people around him.

 

It occurred to Daniel that Jaehwan had mentioned he was also an Entrant, a newcomer onto The Fob. Though he seemed to have gotten acquainted with his scientist really quickly. Another trio dropped by their table to fawn over Seongwu with hugs and a flurry of fist-bumps, but Daniel couldn’t recall their names amidst the ruckus they produced. He vaguely remembered them saying that they had an obsession with pink outfits but unfortunately, the training outfits for this project was an unexciting all-black ensemble, to which Daniel politely smiled and went back immediately to his food.

 

A streak of duos and trios came into the cafeteria, some dropping by with animated greetings, while others gave them cursory smiles and acknowledgements from afar.

 

Minhyun and Jaehwan also came by their table to announce their departure, adding that they will return to their assigned quarters first.

 

_ Our house. _

 

Daniel snapped to attention at their choice of word, it’s  _ singular _ . Did they already move into  _ one house  _ together?

 

He dreaded having to sleep alone in this vast new environment, now that he has gotten wind of other members of a cadre sharing an apartment, it shouldn’t be too far-fetched of a request to stay with Seongwu, isn’t it? He would gladly take the couch, the floor, or even the bathroom if it means he didn’t have to be left alone in this new, massive complex that he was still struggling to adjust to.

 

“Can I stay with you too?” Daniel blurted out before he could second-guess himself.

 

Taken aback by his sudden request, Seongwu blinked in rapid succession and cocked his head quizzically.

 

Daniel shook his head frantically, not wanting to Seongwu misunderstand his intention and quickly adds, “I meant- I could take the couch or the floor but- I just- I really don’t want to be alone.” Daniel lamely finishes and looked forlornly at his fork, licked clean of any pasta sauce it previously had.

 

Seongwu reached across the table to place his hand atop Daniel’s, “Is this because Minhyun and Jaehwan said they’re going back to  _ their  _ house . Actually-”

 

Afraid of what Seongwu had to say, Daniel placed his other hand on top of Seongwu’s, sandwiching his palm between his own. “No- I mean, yes, but no. It’s not just that.” He fiddled around nervously and continued, “Everything here is really new. Really different and- intimidating. I just thought that, we seemed to be getting along really well and I could learn more from you and- and adapt to life here faster?” 

 

Hoping that he had put up a decidedly convincing argument, Daniel gazed at Seongwu with hopeful eyes.

 

“I understand. What I was saying is, even though all Entrants are entitled to an individual apartment, we will only be on The Fob for three days before training starts. Till then, you’re welcome to have my company before we move into the training space.” Seongwu smiles affectionately at Daniel.

 

Daniel lit up and sat up straighter, displaying his obvious sentiments and eagerness at Seongwu’s offer.

 

“Thank you hyung! I promise to be a really likable companion!"

 

"You better make good of that promise." Seongwu taunted good-naturedly and stood up as abruptly as ever, an unspoken understanding that dinner time was over.

 

“Let’s get going then.” 

 

Seongwu stalks out of the place, calling out his thanks to the chef, with Daniel striding after him, a evident spring in his step.

  
  


**__________**

 

They arrived at Seongwu’s allocated quarters on a Poize after sunset, not before Daniel professing his undying love for the breathtaking dip of the sun below the horizon, emanating warm hues of violet, orange, and gold. Seongwu did not have the heart to tell him that the sunset was simply an illusion, they were too far from Earth to experience the earth-like phenomena and timezones, but apparently, the Ruling Council still wanted The Fob to follow certain semblances of Earth. The sunrise and sunset being one of them. 

 

Seongwu had always felt that it was unnecessary and unrealistic. When they conducted practical planet simulations, some planets had close to none periods of nightfall, some had coloured sources of light, and some were shrouded in complete darkness. If they were truly planning to inhabit other planets or structures that could support life, the Earth's usual sunrise and sunsets definitely shouldn’t be taken into consideration. 

 

But he decided that Daniel didn’t need to know all that for now, he hoped that someday in future, he could find someone to discuss anything and everything together with. A kindred spirit. A helpmate. 

 

Seongwu never knew what it was like to have someone accept him unconditionally, though he never stopped wishing for someone to come along one day. 

 

He had been classified as a prodigy from his younger days; he effectively created many of The Fob’s inventions, excelled in every area of research that was exclusively important in The Hourglass Corporation’s work- in their case, expertise in planetary settlements, biological enhancements, and sociology were of utmost importance. Seongwu clearly excelled in multiple fields and as a result, he had often been on the receiving end of green-eyed peers and even lovers, or simply placed on a pedestal even by people from other fields, demanding an unrealistically high level of conduct from him. 

 

He had been eager to take in Daniel when the project was first announced. Someone new, an outsider, a person who doesn’t know about all his accolades- or rather, someone who has no personal gains from his position in their society and hopefully doesn’t seek to take advantage of him as well. He remembered having to wrestle (not physically, though the outcome would still be the same) with Jisung to stake his claim over having Daniel in his cadre.

 

Fervently wishing that he had made the right decision, he had welcomed Daniel with open arms. When Daniel had seemed to be completely enamoured by him, he was positively thrilled. On top of that, Seongwu and Daniel got along perfectly from the get-go and he found himself easily opening up, though he did feel slightly dismal at the thought that Daniel could be acting this way only because he was lonely and Seongwu had been the first person he came in contact with. However, he perked up when he recalled that Daniel had shown no particular interest in any of the others they had interacted with during dinner, though maintaining his usual friendly persona. Perhaps they could have a deeper friendship in no time. Seongwu allowed himself to have hope that for once, he might have found his kindred spirit, his helpmate, a significant other.

 

They settled contentedly into their assigned quarters for the night, it being Seongwu’s first night out on The Fob as well. He had not left the virtual realm in years and did not expect to miss the comforts of his home so quickly. Mark had put out the request for a two-person living quarter into the system, receiving an almost immediate positive reply. Since there were so few people were physically on The Fob at the moment, Seongwu gasped in awe when they were assigned to one of the houses in Pendent Bridges- the area was literal as the name suggested, a grandiose mass of floating bridges interconnected together;  interspersed throughout the bridges were charming and sophisticated houses, designed with the intent of resplendence. 

 

Thankfully, they were given separate beds in the massive accommodation, though each bed looked well-able to take on two to three people.

 

They surveyed the premises in hushed whispers and silent gasps, afraid to taint the magnificence of the abode. Soon after, Daniel gave into fatigue and fell into a deep slumber, his face mirroring the sweet dreams he was having.

 

“Mark, have you found out what happened with Jarvie?”

 

“Certainly! Anytime you’re ready, Mister dazzling and awe-inspiring Seongwu.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More people, more incidents, more reveals weeeee! 
> 
> Introducing Minhyun and Jaehwan yay I was so excited to have them finally meet other people! This is just the start though, everyone will start to stream into the story soon! 
> 
> So here we found out more from Seongwu's side, which just really shows that he grew up in a completely different environment from Earth. That's why you'll find his beliefs about what is normal and what is not to be very different from Daniel's later on.
> 
> Also! Today was the prompt-claiming day for the OngNiel fic fest in November and woah, we were so pumped for it. Are y'all excited about it as well?
> 
> Come talk to me on Twitter and please leave comments too! Would love to talk about the story with y'all keke. 
> 
> Happy WannaOne Day!
> 
> Update: I just created a Curious Cat account too, if that’s more comfortable hurhur. Come talk to me about this storyyy! https://curiouscat.me/dearr_daniell


	7. A Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feeling apprehensive at his train of thoughts, he felt nervousness creep in stealthily, threatening to break his bubble of happiness. “Does that mean Daniel he-?”
> 
> Seongwu trailed off, not daring to vocalize his thoughts.

“It’s rare, but it definitely has happened before. His AIPA is a Metamorphose.”

 

Seongwu cast one last look at Daniel’s sleeping form and shuffled towards the living area, stepping out onto the balcony. They had been assigned to one of the houses on the higher bridges and overlooked the Pendent Bridges. It was a sight to behold in the night. The bridges excessively decked out in warm colored lights, all of them connected harmoniously together like a bustling hive.

 

Houses of different shapes and sizes sprouted across the bridges, but even the smaller ones to accommodate a singular inhabitant, was reasonably spacious. Minhyun and Jaehwan were assigned to house a fair distance from them, on a slightly lower bridge. Their area seemed cozy and lively, leaving Seongwu to assume that most of the inhabitants on The Fob were probably living in the same community. He relished the feeling of having a tight-knit community and looked forward to having Daniel integrated with the rest as well.

 

“Yes. It’s not very rare to have an AIPA that is a Metamorphose,” Seongwu reasoned with Mark, “but why wasn’t she pre-programmed with the usual AIPA protocols? The Ruling Council tried to send her a Communique and she didn’t know how to receive the message? That’s ridiculous.”

 

Seongwu settled into a sofa on the balcony, which immediately adjusted to the contours of his body, ensuring a comfortable position, conforming to the needs of his body.

 

“It’s true that it’s not  _that_ rare, I’m a Metamorphose as well.” Mark declares with a hint of smugness. “But to have an AIPA become a Metamorphose upon the possessor receiving it,  _that_ is unheard of.

 

Most possessors receive AIPAs as a Base. It’s unable to form intelligent responses and is only used for basic functions like receiving Communiques, holograms, and making connections, or phone calls as they call it. If the possessor goes on to work in more prioritized industries, the AIPA will become a Specialised one. And that takes at least a few years.”

 

Sighing in annoyance, Seongwu leaned further back and the sofa adjusted to his silent instructions, reclining to a near-horizontal angle.

 

“An AIPA is very attuned to its possessor and evolves accordingly. I was assigned to you when you were 17. Precisely because you were so highly intelligent, I became Specialised in a mere few months to accommodate all the information your brain was processing. Later on, when you officially became a scientist, I became a Metamorphose. Basically, an AIPA is a reflection of the possessor’s intelligence, development, usage capacity, and an unexplored factor; willpower.”

 

Seongwu contemplated the bulk of information Mark had just crammed into him. He understood all the workings of an AIPA that Mark just explained. He knew that Mark had evolved at a much more significant speed as compared to the others, he had heard enough throughout the years that it is usually a much longer process. Even so, most possessors do not have the capacity to house an AIPA Metamorphose. Most of the time, only members of the Ruling Council or individuals required to contain large amounts of knowledge had that, to accommodate the capacity of information that they needed to process. An AIPA can prove to be an intelligent conversationalist and advisor as well.

 

But honestly, Seongwu had not interacted with enough possessors of Metamorphoses to truly understand the extent of their abilities.

 

Collecting his thoughts, he thought about Daniel and his innocent persona, which did not link up to why his AIPA had been a Metamophose right off the bat.

 

Feeling apprehensive at his train of thoughts, he felt nervousness creep in stealthily, threatening to break his bubble of happiness. “Does that mean Daniel he-?”

 

Seongwu trailed off, not daring to vocalize his thoughts.

 

“Daniel’s a spy, an impostor?” Mark scoffed, “The possibility is negative. Jarvie is a Metamorphose not because Daniel had a large amount of informational load. Jarvie was made into Metamorphose  _upon_  meeting Daniel. She isn’t even pre-programmed to know the usual protocols on The Fob, she’s a clean slate. Freshly plucked out from The Web and assigned to Daniel. Why she evolved immediately is the mystery we need to solve.”

 

Mark let out a small sigh, mirroring Seongwu’s feelings.

 

“I’ve interacted with thousands of AIPAs over the years and I’ve not seen someone like Jarvie though. She’s as lost as Daniel is. If this is a new world for Daniel, it’s even more so for Jarvie. She has to adapt to assist Daniel in this world, and figure out what happens in the AIPA world as well.”

 

Despite the complications Daniel seemed to be facing with Jarvie’s unusual circumstances, Seongwu still felt an immense relief that Daniel was not some spy or imposter, sneaking in to possibly break into their knowledge vault and flee with the acquired information. Daniel seemed as innocent as he is.

 

“Besides, you’ve been observing him for a long time, you should know better, hyung.”

 

“Oh, so now you finally decided to call me hyung?” Seongwu snorted at this AIPA and its random assortment of titles. Though he couldn’t see his AIPA, he was probably shrugging at Seongwu. Brat.

 

Coming to a swift decision, Seongwu stood up resolutely and headed off to prepare for bed.

 

“Mark, establish a permanent connection with Jarvie. Let her learn the protocols and access my information vault.”

 

“Are you sure hyung? It can be highly personal and invasive. She, and effectively Daniel, can have access to all your research work and even emotions and- “

 

“Mark”

 

“-it’s one-sided unless Daniel opens up his side as well…” Mark trails off apprehensively. But he knew that once Seongwu had made a decision, there was no point trying to convince him.

 

"I got it."

 

Mark truly hoped that Seongwu remembered the significance of establishing a permanent connection and that Daniel would treasure it well. For the sake of his possessor, whom he also treasured dearly.

 

**__________**

 

Even though he did not fully understand the situation, Daniel zealously agreed to establish a permanent connection with Seongwu’s AIPA, allowing Seongwu to tap into his knowledge if necessary. He did not think there was anything he needed to hide from Seongwu. From what he gathered, it was similar to sharing his computer password with Seongwu. AIPAs could not access their thoughts, though they could figure out their emotions and feelings according to their physical signs.

 

(Like how Daniel’s heart rate would speed up every time he saw Seongwu, that sort of physical signs.)

 

He heard Mark speak - projected into his brain - for the first time and was surprised that it was so different from Jarvie.

 

“He sounds like a rebellious teenage boy!” Daniel had exclaimed gleefully, much to the chagrin of Mark.

 

Mark explained to Daniel the significance of establishing a permanent connection and repeatedly emphasized the amount of faith Seongwu had in Daniel to perform such an action.

 

"I will treasure it, really." Feeling Mark's worry and concern for his possessor bleed through his every word, Daniel solemnly assured Mark that he would cherish this act, hoping that his sincerity would get through to Mark.

 

Needless to say, Daniel was ecstatic throughout the day and refused to be more than a hair's breadth away from Seongwu.

 

Seongwu, dressed in training wear sans his lab coat, had taken Daniel out for breakfast. The mood surrounding them like a festive holiday, decorated with flashy Christmas lights. They subsequently toured around The Fob on a Poize, stepping off every now and then to explore the different places they came across.

 

Daniel was intrigued by every single thing he saw on The Fob. From their recreational parks, the library, the viewing tower, the vast mountains and magnificent sceneries. A plethora of flowers and plants that he had never seen before, their colors vivid and captivating. Pleasant-smelling grass lined the streets they walked upon. Impeccably-designed architecture spread out in every direction, grounded and afloat. A constant string of "oohs" and "aahs" escaped him, unable to contain his fascination with the world he had stepped into.

 

He was spellbound by the new world and couldn’t comprehend how much more magnificent it will be in the Decagon even though Seongwu constantly insisted that life in the Decagon was even better.

 

They approached yet another towering skyscraper, reflecting off an iridescent blue, color changing with every angle of light. It looked opulent among a forest of sky-blue trees, lush with black leaves. Seongwu had told Daniel that those trees were specially modified to purify the air and release antiseptics.

 

Stopping at the entrance of large doors flung wide open, Seongwu halted in his step.

 

“I have a scheduled appointment with the hospital. Some sort of process that will boost my physical body because,” he awkwardly flails his limbs about, “the Ruling Council finally took pity on us cryopreserved ones and approved the enhancement process for this project.”

 

Daniel burst into a fit of giggles again, finding it endearing whenever Seongwu mentioned his state of clumsiness.

 

“Can I come along?”

 

“It’ll take quite a while though. Would you like to wait at home?”

 

Daniel went giddy with happiness again at the mention of home.  _Their home._

 

“I’ll wait here with you if that’s okay?”

 

Seongwu smirked and shook his head in mock disbelief, “I guess you can’t bear the thought of being away from me huh? Even for a few hours.”

 

“I guess not.” Daniel returned his smirk with an equally fond one. 

 

**__________**

 

Soon, Seongwu was being ushered down a long winding hall and an attendant sprouted by Daniel’s side, leading him to a waiting room that served as a communal area. Large window panels overlooked the central hub and multiple couches and long sofas were placed in an orderly mess around the area. The attendant quietly informed Daniel to help himself to the snacks near the pantry before he slinked away, as stealthily as he had arrived.

 

Daniel spotted a handful of people spread across the area, some of them chatting in hushed tones, while others were deeply engrossed in whatever was displayed on their Veils.

 

“Go talk to them!” Jarvie piped up into his mind.

 

Daniel stood rooted to his spot near the entrance, “No I’m just- too nervous and they probably don’t know who I am. It’s so nerve-wracking.”

 

“Precisely because they don’t know you, so you have to introduce yourself!” came Jarvie's disgruntled reply.

 

“But- I-” Daniel took deep breaths, unsure of how he should even begin to approach the people in the room. No doubt he would like to know more people involved in this year-long project with him. But he didn't want to strike up a random conversation with them and be forced to make awkward small talk. Shouldn’t there be an orientation of some sort to get to know everyone?

 

Deciding that getting acquainted can wait, Daniel zipped towards a quiet corner of the area and scrambled onto a couch that was aligned towards the panoramic windows. The backing the of couch advantageously high, shielding Daniel from the non-existent crowd.

 

Staring at the expanse of the hub before his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to wander off to the places Seongwu had taken him to earlier that day. In his short time on The Fob, he had been thoroughly captivated by their advanced community. He wondered why Earth seemed to be regressing so much while inhabitants on The Fob seemed to be living in the future already. Though he couldn’t say much about the societal systems on The Fob yet, he was almost sure it would be better than whatever the Earth was experiencing.

 

Seongwu had revealed that part of the project’s purpose is to reveal to Earthlings the extent of The Fob’s advancements, the luxury of the lifestyles and hopefully convince more people to come on The Fob.

 

_Why wouldn’t people want to come on The Fob?_

 

Seongwu had laughed at his naive question but patiently continued. Daniel felt like an elementary student having a crush on his teacher all over again.

 

_People don’t like changes, Daniel. They settle for their current lifestyles, which they think is good. But they don’t want to reach for the best. People think that good, is good enough. They forget that ‘better’ exists._

 

Daniel had been puzzled by Seongwu’s explanations, but he quickly understood that while relating it to his own life. Had he just been an Earthling, life on The Fob would feel like a fairytale, but he wouldn’t be inclined to leave behind everything on Earth to join The Fob just because it was "better". There had to be more concrete reasons for such a substantial change.

 

The Hourglass Project had been designed to personally get Earthlings involved in the experience, allowing the people to feel more interconnected with The Fob. By bridging the connections, there would be a higher chance of Earthlings wanting to come on The Fob.

 

Of course, Seongwu had emphasized that they wanted to have people from all walks of life. If they only had jobless and unmotivated people looking to leave the Earth for a prospected life of luxury, it would completely upset the dynamics they built up.

 

Daniel had laughed at that, stating that he was a desperate and broke bum who signed up too.

 

_You are different._

 

Receiving a smile that didn’t quite reach Seongwu’s eyes, Daniel could only hope that it was positive.

 

“Hey, Daniel?”

 

Jumping from his reverie, Daniel turned towards the source of the voice.

 

Oh.

 

Him.

 

Why would he be here?

 

**__________**

 

An awfully familiar looking man, with rose-colored hair who looked no older than his mid-twenties, stood to the right end of the couch,  delighted to see Daniel.

 

“Mister Yoon?” Daniel managed to stutter out upon registering the man’s face, “How- w-what are you doing here?”

 

Amused by Daniel’s reaction, the man chuckled and plopped down on the couch beside Daniel, fussing over him.

 

“I can’t believe you have grown so much! You were just a tiny bean back then,” the man almost sobs, “Look at you now, tall and well-built, just like what I expected.”

 

Mister Yoon. Yoon Jisung. His middle school Math teacher. He had always taken a special liking to Mister Yoon for his kind personality and nurturing character. He often encouraged Daniel to take on hobbies that he liked, gave him extra tuition when he wasn’t performing well.

 

“Are you perhaps, working for The Hourglass Corporation?” Daniel hesitantly asked, though extremely glad to meet another familiar face.

 

“Yes, I have been here for quite some time.” Mister Yoon flashed him a wane smile and resumed fussing over Daniel. “Come sweetie, let’s get more snacks and if you are lost or have any questions, just come to me!”

 

“Thank you Mister Yoon, I-”

 

“Sweetie! I’m not your teacher anymore. That was eons ago. Please, call me Jisung hyung.”

 

Daniel felt extremely tongue-tied, it just didn’t feel right to call his former teacher, hyung. Scratching his neck self-consciously, he fidgeted in his seat.

 

Frowning at his apparent discomfort, Jisung had taken pity on him. “Alright, alright. I know it’s difficult to get used to it!” Jisung mused and ruffled his hair, “As you know, everyone has titles here. Call me Professor Jisung until you’re more comfortable then.”

 

Professor? Didn’t Daehwi also call Seongwu hyung “Professor Seongwu?”

 

“Oh, sure! Professor Jisung.” Daniel grinned, more at ease with the dynamics. “You’re a Professor so you must be a scientist like Seongwu hyung?”

 

If a picture could paint a thousand words, Jisung’s expressions could paint a thousand emotions too.

 

His eyes widened into an incredulous expression, “You call Professor Seongwu,  _hyung_? He allows that? That brat. We’re still on title-calling terms.” Jisung pouted and grumbled indignantly.

 

A sense of pride swelled up within Daniel, feeling a boost to his ego for having Seongwu hyung exclusive to himself.

 

“But yes, I’m a scientist too. However, ‘Professor’ does not automatically mean you’re a scientist, it a title for different positions within society.”

 

“Oh. I see. Erm. What am I then?”

 

Chuckling at Daniel’s questions, Jisung answered, “Well, that would depend on your assigned scope of work and certain other factors. If you would call it, it’s a hierarchy system. It isn’t designed to demean anyone, but it’s for a better distribution of resources within the community.

 

The Professors have a somewhat,” Jisung paused, hands gesturing around to express his ideas, “higher ranking?” He grimaced at his own choice of words but nevertheless, continued with the explanations.

 

“There are 6 ranks in the hierarchy. The top, of course, is like a President in Earthling terms. The Ruling Council is second. Professors belong to the third category, Intellectuals.”

 

Jisung rapidly bulldozed through his speech, clearly not very fond of having to flaunt his position. Daniel was reassured by the thought that his former teacher still seemed as humble as he always had been.

 

“Next would be the Executors, Connectors and lastly, Auxillaries.”

 

Daniel made a mental note to get Jarvie to obtain information on the hierarchy system again. He had already forgotten the first half of what Jisung said.

 

“How do I- know what category I fall in then?”

 

Tapping his chin, Jisung pondered for a moment before answering, “You’re an Entrant, so the rules will be different I presume. Basically, they will test for your inclinations and what jobs you are suitable for. Don’t worry Daniel, I’m sure you will be in one of the top ranks.”

 

Patting his back, Jisung smiled encouragingly at him.

 

“Oh!” Jisung perked up in excitement as he thought of something, “Do you remember Sungwoon? Ha Sungwoon? He’s a researcher in The Hourglass Corp as well!”

 

Of course, Daniel remembered. That one senior that never left Jisung’s side. Daniel always found it odd that the senior was always spotted with Jisung, but was too young to question anything. But it was definitely memorable.

 

“I do, the senior that was always with you isn’t it?”

 

Jisung flushed with embarrassment, red to the tips of his ears. “Well, sorta. Yeah. Anyway, he’s also with the doctors now, come talk to him later as well?”

 

Feeling his curiosity getting better of him, Daniel couldn’t stop himself from probing into Jisung’s private life.

 

“Mister Yoon,” he started but was immediately met with a face of disgust, “Sorry, okay, Jisung- uh- hyung.” Forcing the term out of his throat, he soldiered on, “What is your- your situation with Sungwoon sunbaenim?”

 

If Jisung was embarrassed previously, he was now completely flustered, stuttering to find the words to Daniel’s question.

 

“Hah, well-” he fanned his face dramatically, “we are together.” Jisung squeaked out like a schoolgirl talking about her crush. “I can’t believe this is the first thing you’re asking me at our first meeting in years.” Daniel burst out in laughter as Jisung gave him a pointed look.

 

“But, Daniel. Relationships in our world are very different from Earth’s preconceived notions.”

 

Giggling at Jisung’s reveal, Daniel didn’t take what he was saying seriously.

 

“How so?”

 

“To put it simply, we don’t have marriages like you do on Earth. If you like another person, be it in a friendly way or romantic way, you simply just do. There’re no labels, certificates or anything. Just be with whoever you want. Though of course, most lovers live together.”

 

Daniel had to hold himself down from screaming out loud, he was already staying with Seongwu! Did that mean something more? He was elated by the thought and couldn’t wait to ask Seongwu about it. Did he have to prepare a confession? A proposal? What do they do on The Fob?

 

“...siblings and friends live together too so it’s not something uncommon.”

 

As quickly as his excitement spiked up, Daniel felt like he was doused with a pail of water.

 

"Oh."

 

Living together as “siblings” did not sound appealing to Daniel at all. He sure hoped that Seongwu didn’t look upon him as a younger brother. That would be horrible.

 

“Well, the only thing sort of ‘romantic’ here would be finding your Helpmate.“ Jisung added, making inverted commas air-signs as if romance was a far-fetched idea.

 

“Helpmate?”

 

Seeing Daniel’s keen interest in the topic, Jisung chuckled and swatted his shoulder affectionately.

 

“Oh, to be young and in love. Well, in Earthling terms, it’s kind of like Soulmates. But on The Fob, it takes on a different significance. Helpmates are people who have a 90% and above match. It means that your characteristics, temperaments, traits, habits, likes, and dislikes are all complementary to each other. The system doesn’t strive for 100% because it’s technically unrealistic. Above 95% is rare. Some people don’t even find a Helpmate after years. I only found mine recently.”

 

Despite Daniel’s marked interest, Jisung flashed Daniel a strained smile.

 

“As I mentioned, it’s not meant to be romantic. It’s a Helpmate, for a reason. Being Helpmates would mean that you both would be paired up together for higher-priority-missions, have first-hand access to classified information and so on. It’s designed such that, since two people are so complementary to each other, you both can work together very well in missions and deliver better results. So far, it has been proven true.”

 

A Helpmate.

 

Daniel vibrated in excitement and a multitude of questions buzzed through him, held at the tip of his tongue. Though Jisung had mentioned that he found his Helpmate late, Daniel certainly still carried the hope that he would find his Helpmate soon. His traitorous brain already conjuring visions of him and Seongwu being Helpmates and going on important missions together and returning victoriously. A giggle threatened to slip past his throat and it came out as a squawk, faint traces of a grin on his features.

 

“Daniel…” Jisung drawled and Daniel was met with an unimpressed look from Jisung, “...like I was saying. I’m not sure what excitable thoughts you are having there and I don’t mean to dampen your mood, but there have been cases of Helpmates who eventually lose their compatibility.”

 

“Losing their compatibility? You mean like- a break-up?”

 

No, that couldn’t be. Once two people are compatible, shouldn’t it be forever? What a huge reversal to typical romances Earthlings speak of.

 

“Yes, this system isn’t designed to help you find your true love. It is what it is, a Helpmate. Two people who can work together in perfect harmony, complementing each others’ strengths and supplementing each other’s faults. That being said, as time goes on, a person’s temperament, habits, and behavior may change. For some, it reaches a point where they are no longer complementary.”

 

Leaning back into the coach, Jisung fiddled with his lab coat sadly, seemingly deep in thought. Daniel took in Jisung’s words seriously. He hoped that Jisung hadn’t had to go through such a traumatizing event since he mentioned that he had found his Helpmate recently. If possible, Daniel hoped that it doesn’t happen to anybody. It must be an awful situation to accept.

 

Still burning with curiosity, Daniel carefully posed his next question.

 

“What happens when- if people aren’t Helpmates anymore?”

 

Daniel peeked at Jisung from the corner of his eye, worried that he might break down in a hysterical fit. He remembered that his teacher always had a flair for the dramatics.

 

Thankfully, Jisung smiled kindly at him. “That depends on each pair. Although many pairs of Helpmates inevitably become romantically involved, there are couples together who aren’t each others' Helpmates too. For some, they make a conscious decision to still be together despite not being Helpmates anymore. But for others, they go their separate ways.” Jisung stared off into the horizon, a knowing look flitted across his features, as if he recalled an unpleasant memory.

 

“But fret not my child!” Daniel flinched in surprise as Jisung abruptly exclaimed and swung his arm around Daniel’s shoulders. He was barely able to reach the other end of Daniel’s broad shoulders and awkwardly rested his hand near Daniel’s neck. “There are much more successful cases than failed ones. Have faith!”

 

“But how-”

 

“Professor Jisung?”

 

An attendant called out meekly, remaining in a bowed polite manner off to the side of the couch.

 

“Is it my turn? I’m coming.” Jisung waved her away cheerfully and the attendant hurriedly bowed and scurried away.

 

They seemed to move about really stealthily. Daniel hadn’t even heard anyone approaching.

 

“Well, Dani boy, we’ll definitely be seeing each other again soon. Rest well! I’ll see you at the inauguration.”

 

Though Daniel had been nervous and fidgety throughout his time without Seongwu, he was glad that his manners had not left him. He promptly stood up and acknowledged the senior’s departure with a small bow.

 

With a turn of his heel, Jisung marched out of the room in the same awkward fashion that Daniel was used to seeing.

 

Heaving out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, Daniel hurriedly ducked behind his self-declared fortress, not yet ready to face more people from the Fob.

 

The exchange with Jisung had left him with more questions, but most crucially, what Daniel really wanted to know was:

 

_How do you find out if a person is your Helpmate?_

 

“Daniel,” the velvety voice from the person he wanted to see the most came floating through. Daniel whipped around to see Seongwu leaning against the coach, a foot crossed in front of him with his elbow propped against the higher backing of the coach.

 

Struggling to keep his jaw intact, Daniel gave Seongwu a once-over, scrutinizing the details that seemed different about him.

 

Seongwu was most definitely in better control of his limbs, exuding a lithe and graceful aura that was previously absent. His body looked fuller as well as if steroids had been injected to instantly catapult his physique. At the rate Daniel was going, Seongwu was probably very well aware that he was about to salivate at any given moment.

 

Smirking at Daniel’s entranced state, Seongwu raised an eyebrow in question.

 

“Daniel? Did you hear me? I’m done with the enhancements.”

 

“Y-yeah, I heard you. I was just-”

 

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Daniel was sure that he was flushing right to the tips of his ears. If anyone looked closer, steam would escape his ears soon enough.

 

Seongwu’s melodious laughter rang across the space between Daniel and him, “Come, let’s go meet the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I know the scientific portions are getting heavier, but it's important to the development of the story! I had thought that this would be a short chapter, but it went on for quite a bit luls.
> 
> Professor Jisung is out tooooo! I really adore his relationship with Daniel and tried to portray it as such in this story too keke.
> 
> Do leave comments to let me know what you think! I really really appreciate it! Kudos would be a plus as well!
> 
> See you all soon, or talk to me anytime on Twitter/CC! (@dearr_daniell)


	8. Traverse the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwu turned to look at Daniel expectantly, a whimsical look overtaking his features.
> 
> “That’s a very noble dream-“
> 
> “...with my Helpmate. My dream is to traverse the universe with my Helpmate.”

Daniel dragged his feet along as Seongwu proceeded to introduce him to the handful of people still present in the communal waiting area. They all appeared to be friendly enough, welcoming Daniel onto The Fob and sympathising with him for probably having a hard time with the new environment. 

 

Barely absorbing any of the lighthearted dialogue, Daniel smiled and gave cursory replies in the most polite fashion he could manage, never giving answers that could potentially drag out the conversation any longer than necessary.

 

Seongwu gave him a few knowing looks and finally gave up after the third round of introductions, announcing jovially that they would be taking their leave.

 

Daniel perked up and quickly trotted out of the room, eager to whisk Seongwu away for some time just between the two of them.

 

**__________**

 

“Do you have a Helpmate?”

 

They were at the uppermost floor of the Viewing Tower as Seongwu wanted to make good of his promise to bring Daniel to see the planets and stars in the galaxy.

 

A variety of astronomy-related equipment were arranged neatly around the viewing lounge and Seongwu had excitedly went about setting up the equipment. Large control boards with hundred of buttons were lined up at the edge of the room, the full-length windows darkening into screens to display a galaxy that Seongwu had chosen after wrestling with the dizzying controls on the control boards.

 

Looking up from the board, Seongwu laughed despite the situation.

 

“Was this the reason you were so distracted since just now? Who told you about Helpmates?”

 

Seongwu asked nonchalantly as he went back to fiddling with the controls and buttons.

 

“I met Professor Jisung, he was actually one of my middle-school teachers back on Earth.”

 

“Professor Jisung,” Seongwu nods in understanding, “He’s quite the- chatterbox, isn’t he?”

 

Sitting down gingerly on an armchair next to Seongwu, Daniel manages a short laugh.

 

“He hasn’t changed at all.”

 

Pausing awkwardly, Daniel made futile attempts to scrutinise the set of buttons and controls before him. He hoped that Seongwu would answer the question without him having to repeat it again. He was embarrassed enough as it is.

 

“I don’t.”

 

Glancing up at Seongwu, Daniel felt the edges of his lips curl up ever so slightly. “You don’t what?”

 

Seongwu turned to him with a hint of annoyance coupled with embarrassment, “I was answering your first question.”

 

“I ask you a lot of questions all the time.”

 

“Wow, getting bolder aren’t you?” Seongwu chuckled and returned his attention to the controls, “I don’t have a Helpmate, yet.”

 

Fighting the urge to beam in satisfaction, Daniel looked away quickly. His heart soared at the answer, the pressure and uneasiness he had been feeling instantly vanished.

 

_Of course Seongwu didn’t have a Helpmate, it has to be me!_

 

Daniel giggled to himself, realising belatedly that he had muttered out his thoughts as Seongwu gave him a bemused stare. He flushed deeply again, horrified at his unreliable self for always being an uncontrollable blushing mess in Seongwu’s presence.

 

However, Seongwu seemed to enjoy seeing him being reduced to a shy, giggly, boy-in-love. He took hold of Daniel’s chair and pulled him closer, the wheels underneath Daniel’s chair sliding along smoothly without protest, bumping into Seongwu’s chair with a light thud.

 

“Look at this cluster of stars,” Seongwu says wistfully.

 

Daniel frowned at the abrupt change in conversation but gives in anyway, humming in acknowledgement.

 

“I have been studying the galaxy, looking for stars and planets capable of sustaining human life for years.”

 

Seongwu pushed a few controls and the screen showed a zoomed-in image on the cluster of stars.

 

“One of The Hourglass Corporation’s main goals is to find as many liveable planets as possible, so that humankind can have space to grow and populate, to enjoy a variety of exotic and comfortable environments. We have found hundreds of them through the years.”

 

Unsure of what Seongwu was driving at, Daniel swivelled his chair to face Seongwu and continued listening intently.

 

“I don’t intend to settle on any of the planets though.” Learning forward, he propped his head up in his hands and continued, “I have researched about each planet painstakingly over the years, developed enhancements to make them liveable, and assisted in the architectural recommendations to build a myriad of beautiful worlds for mankind. My dream is to build each planet into a liveable one, but not stopping there, then traveling to the next new planet to pioneer it again...”

 

Seongwu turned to look at Daniel expectantly, a whimsical look overtaking his features.

 

“That’s a very noble dream-“

 

“...with my Helpmate. My dream is to traverse the universe with my Helpmate.”

 

Daniel felt his heartbeat speed up incessantly. The way Seongwu looked at him while expressing his heartfelt desires, could it be possible that Seongwu considered him to be his potential Helpmate? His brain short-circuited as Seongwu continued grinning goofily at him. What was he supposed to say?

 

_That sounds awfully romantic._

 

_Would you perhaps consider me?_

 

_If you hadn’t realised, I’m pretty sure I’m your Helpmate._

 

Sputtering in surprise, Daniel was unable to come up with a coherent response and settled for groaning out loud instead.

  

“Hyung, please stop being so romantic.” He nearly wailed, “You’ll make me develop unrealistic expectations for my future partner and I’ll be disappointed by anyone else that is not you. Would you want my sorry ass to stick by you forever?”

 

Giving him an indecipherable look, Seongwu chuckled. “That’s the plan, Daniel.”

 

Daniel’s eyes widened at Seongwu’s unexpected confirmation. He swore he heard angels singing and praising the Lord, an orchestra in the background to top it off. When Seongwu’s words finally sunk into his thick skull, Daniel cupped his own face and squealed in excitement.

 

His crush had just reciprocated his feelings!

 

He continued to stare at Seongwu in wonderment. How does one reply to an unexpected declaration of love!

 

“Does that mean- we- erm. How does it work on The Fob? Do we continue to get to know each other? Are we dating? Are we a thing? Since we’re on the topic of Helpmates, do we have to do a test to determine if we’re Helpmates? Will we get married in future?!”

 

Seongwu reached over and pinched Daniel’s cheek, his eyes filled with adoration and love. “Easy there pup, let’s take things slowly.”

 

“Oh- I-I’m sorry I just- don’t know what to expect and I just feel really happy when I’m with you. I know it’s only been a few days but it feels like I’ve known you for such a long time, like we’ve always meant to be together and- yeah…”

 

Trailing off meekly, Daniel cupped his burning red ears and smiled shyly at Seongwu.

 

He was surprised by his own feelings as well.

 

The moment he met Seongwu, things seems to fit in perfectly. If he didn’t believe in soulmates before, he definitely did now.

 

They seemed to be in perfect synchronisation, balancing each other’s character quirks and blending together seamlessly. Though Daniel didn’t know what the Helpmate “test” entailed, he was sure that Seongwu and him would wind up as Helpmates as well.

 

“I feel the same.” Seongwu paused and lifted Daniel’s chin to look at him, “I hope we can travel the universe together.”

 

Upon Seongwu’s delightful answer, Daniel broke into an impossibly wide grin.

 

_This must be what it feels like to have the person you like, like you back._

 

Daniel sighed blissfully as he huddled closer to Seongwu, wanting to hear him go on about the different planets that they were prospectively going to explore together.

 

Seongwu continued to babble on about the different planets, a gleam in his eyes as he spoke with knowledge that revealed the copious amounts of time he had placed into the research. Some lusciously beautiful, some bountiful in resources, and others that were just plain exotic.

 

“...Minhyun especially likes this planet, it has no dust elements and will be developed into a city with minimalist architecture to produce an absolutely clean and spotless environment. I don’t think Jaehwan will be too thrilled though.” Seongwu laughs as he mentioned his best friend.

 

“Jaehwan has to go with him?”

 

“Oh,” Seongwu flashed Daniel a knowing look, his eyebrow quirked mischievously, “Jaehwan will want to stick with Minhyun, they’re Helpmates and lovers.”

 

“Lovers? Wow. How long has Jaehwan been on The Fob?”

 

“Well over four-“ Seongwu halted and blinked rapidly, he then cleared his throat and mumbled that he doesn’t keep track of others on The Fob.

 

Four days?

 

Four weeks?

 

It had to be four days, that was the only plausible answer. They were only chosen less than a fortnight ago, it wouldn’t be possible for Jaehwan to have been here any longer.

 

Daniel drinks in every word Seongwu says, though he started to have nagging feelings at the back of his mind about the authenticity of the chosen Entrants for The Hourglass Project.

 

Out of the few pairs he had met on The Fob, it seemed that many of them were lovers, Helpmates, or potentially complementary in character. If the Project claimed to be a random draw, it didn’t seem possible that all of them happened to be complementary. He had felt an inexplicable connection to Seongwu when he first met him too. Were the results rigged? Or were they just so fortunately compatible?

 

Thoughts muddled in Daniel’s mind as he struggled to come up with logical answers.

 

Seongwu had clearly denied to answer his question about Jaehwan previously, or it might have been the wrong time to ask?

 

He trusted Seongwu, didn’t he?

 

Daniel gently clasped Seongwu’s hand in his, startling the scientist amidst his speech as he intertwined their fingers together. The shocked expression on the scientist quickly evolved into a contented smile as he continued describing the specialities of a particular planet.

 

As Daniel looked at Seongwu, the nagging feelings were slowly replaced by an overwhelming intensity of adoration.

 

He wanted to protect him, to love him, and to share his burdens and dreams as well.

 

Daniel allowed the questions and doubts to retreat to the back of his mind, deciding that Seongwu would eventually tell him when the time is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it’s a very short update! I have been finishing up my fic for the Gapyeong Lovers OngNiel fic fest, and it’s ridiculously long hahaha. I’ve also been sidetracked by other stories hurhurrrrr.
> 
> I guess it’s because I’ve been travelling while visiting my family for 2 weeks, I have sooooo many things I want to write about. I have to write for my freelance work as well lolol.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading it!
> 
> Twitter/CC: @dearr_daniell


	9. Inauguration Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Inauguration.

Daniel was gently woken up by Jarvie’s perfectly customised internal alarm system. To say that he was calm, would be the biggest lie of his life. He was in a jumbled frenzy; nervous, excited, fearful, elated, terrified.

 

This it it.

 

The final step before he truly immerses himself in the new world that he has gotten himself into.

 

“Ready?”

 

A gentle hand swept across his peripheral vision, brushing his fringe away from his eyes. Momentarily startled, he blinked silently before looking up to find the source of the gentle caress.

 

_Seongwu._

 

He was met with a sincere gaze from Seongwu, the pressure upon him instantly lessened. Everything will be better with Seongwu around, he was sure of that.

 

“Yeah, a little nervous, that is.”

 

Daniel clambered out of his comfortable nest, feeling a tinge of regret at having to leave the beautiful accommodation already. All the amenities and facilities had been top-notch, with a stunning view to top it all off.

 

He readied himself for the day, slipping into the provided uniforms. A pod had delivered their uniforms the night before and Seongwu had received the “delivery”. Not that there was much receiving to be done, he had simply opened the door of the quarters to allow the parcel-like, floating device in. It had attached itself to their wardrobe, ejected the contents, and languidly made its way out of the house again.

 

“Wow, I’m just- I’m getting used to this. But still surprised at the same time.”

 

“Pleasantly surprised, I hope?”

 

“Yeah, of course. It’s all great.”

 

Daniel acclimated to the environment much faster than he had expected of himself. Though the day-to-day activities seemed bizarre, but it wasn’t something completely unforeseen in a futuristic era. He just happened to experience it early, and he attributes that as a good thing.

 

He stepped into the living room where Seongwu was chuckling lightly to himself, his sunset-orange Veil projected before him with a flurry of words and pictures.

 

Seems like he was communicating with Mark.

 

“Dani,” Jarvie’s chirpy voice pierced through his hazed mind, clogged by a bundle of emotions.

 

“Hmm?” Daniel was getting better at this - subvocalizing and what not, it’s definitely a skill.

 

“Don’t be so nervous, you’ll be fine! If you show up at the Inauguration with this expression on your face, I guarantee you that you’ll have no other friends and that will make the rest of your time here very difficult!”

 

Daniel straightened up and tried to school his expression into what he hoped is a smiley one. The muscles on his forehead trembled in relaxation and he realised he must have been frowning excessively.

 

“Better?”

 

“Of course! Dani, just be yourself. Smile. Make friends. There’s no point being nervous. From the looks of the situation, the whole team has to work together closely. It’s definitely more beneficial for you to be on good terms with everyone.”

 

“That is true,” there was no competition, they were all to work together. As far as Daniel knew, the teams were created for higher efficiency and delegation of different tasks. Ultimately, their goal was to simulate life on other planets together. He shouldn’t be wary of the others.

 

“Okay, let’s do this!”

 

“Do what?”

 

Jarvie snickered at Daniel’s sudden declaration of faith out loud. He really needs to stop speaking his thoughts aloud at random interjections.

 

He plopped down on the couch beside Seongwu, leaning his head on his shoulders.

 

“Just- Giving myself a pep talk before the big event later.”

 

Seongwu took hold of Daniel’s hand and assured him again that he would be there at all times. He whispered encouragements and gave him occasional loving pats. Daniel felt his heart soar with an overwhelming flood of gratefulness and love again.

 

They were going to do this, together.

 

“Daniel, please trust me when I say that everything we do is for the greater good of mankind.”

 

“O-kay?”

 

Daniel lifted his head from Seongwu’s shoulders to look at him, trying to decipher the situation.

 

Seongwu’s look of determination slackened into a soft, adoring expression before he spoke again.

 

“There are many things on The Fob done differently from Earth. As you can see already, the society is vastly different. I hope you think that The Fob is a much better place than Earth?”

 

Daniel nodded vigorously. Seongwu had been sharing more and more with him lately.

 

”To achieve what we have, there are definitely stark differences in our way of executing things, governance, lifestyle and laws. Some things may be harder for you to accept, but I assure you that our motivations are for the greater good of mankind. With Earthlings regressing so exponentially, we have to look into different ways, different methods.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“It’s just- If ever there’s anything you’re confused about, or that you find absolutely unacceptable, I want you to talk to me. Communicate with me.”

 

Breaking their eye-contact, Seongwu’s gaze turned dismal, desperate even.

 

“I’ve seen some Earthlings who just couldn’t seem to agree with us, and they bottle up the grievances within themselves for years, only to lash out and the consequences are- terrible. I just- Just know that, there are bound to be differences - huge differences - between Earth and The Fob. I assure you that it’s all good, but I know you will need time to adjust. If anything- anything at all - makes you uncomfortable. Talk to me, alright?”

 

Daniel was downright confused, though he did understand Seongwu’s sentiments. It seemed a little personal. Too personal, in fact. Something had probably happened in the past to make him the way he was acting.

 

It’s a whole other world, of course there will be differences. But Daniel did not want to be too eager to assume that he would be fine with everything when he hadn’t even been exposed to the workings on The Fob yet. All he could surmise was that - he trusted Seongwu.

 

“I trust you,” he truly did.

 

**__________**

 

Daehwi latched onto Seongwu upon their arrival at the hallway. He chattered excitedly as they headed into the venue.

 

“Our seats are here!”

 

Daehwi pushed Daniel into an afixed ball chair as he settled into another ball chair next to Daniel. Seongwu’s designated seat was between them, in the front row towards the stage. He slid into his chair and swivelled around to grin at Daniel and Daehwi.

 

“Very comfortable chairs we have here huh? Daniel, you better not doze off.”

 

Daniel gasped at Seongwu’s teasing accusation, proudly proclaiming that he was completely alert and will pay full attention to the briefing.

 

Amidst their cheery banter, the lights in the room dimmed and Seongwu threw him one last encouraging smile before turning to the front. Daniel stared through the husk of the chair, uneasy that he couldn’t see Seongwu.

 

He looked around to see that they had all been arranged neatly in two rows. The scientists of each group were placed in the first row, the Entrants to the right of their scientist, the researcher on the left. They were placed in the second row, each cadre effectively forming a triangle.

 

He felt an intense gaze directed at him and cautiously turned to his right.

 

 _Sungwoon._

 

Jisung had mentioned he would see him. Heeding Jarvie’s advice, he quickly smiled and inclined his head towards Sungwoon in a respectful nod.

 

“Hey there,” Sungwoon mouthed at him jovially.

 

The room was shrouded in silence, an air of anticipation almost suffocating Daniel. He stiffened in his cushioned seat, eager to know what would happen next.

 

As the minimal lighting also went out, Daniel was seized with fear. He couldn’t even see his own fingers. His heartbeat intensified as the silence rang loudly in his ears.

 

_Whoosh._

 

A mesh of lights sprung to life right before Daniel’s eyes, The Hourglass Project’s emblem appeared in a hologram from the central podium.

 

Distracted by the massive emblem projected before him, Daniel did not notice that someone was standing on a smaller podium beside the hologram projection.

 

“Good morning everyone, my name is Heize, Master Researcher of The Hourglass Project.”

 

The speaker beamed at them while everyone erupted in applause and excited cheers.

 

_Welcome to the Inauguration._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been awhile! I’m excited to update this again! I have been working on other fiction pieces (for work) and it’s been tiring. There’s so much to write hurhur!
> 
> I’ll be trying to update more often, but with shorter chapters? Longer chapters are okay too, with more scenes and more to read each time. 
> 
> I’m trying to find the best way I can write more efficiently too! 
> 
> So here we are! With the inauguration FINALLY. I’m writing the next few chapters carefully because there’s a lot of people to be introduced hahaha. I’ve put in a few people here and there in the previous chapters but this will be where everyone officially comes together already. 
> 
> But I’ll be finishing up the last chapter of Homme Fatale first, I think! 
> 
> Thank you for reading and see y’all very soon!


End file.
